


Another Time, Another Place

by callasyndra



Series: Another Time, Another Place [1]
Category: FMA: Conqueror of Shambala, Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Dubious Consent, Elricest, M/M, Multi, hormonal mess, possible triggering subject matter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-03-04 10:56:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3065249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callasyndra/pseuds/callasyndra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An overdose of hormones and two Elric brothers are never a good idea.  This thing has a ton of angst in it.  </p><p>Spoilers for Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 and Fullmetal Alchemist:  Conqueror of Shambala</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was never meant to happen. It came about when I was plotting out some of Paradox and Ling from bob_fish's Camping Trip of Doom and Wrong Turn 'Verse decided to jump into the plotting. (Speaking of the wonderful bob_fish - you should all go and read her Wrong Turn 'Verse and leave her lots of kudos & compliments.) He just happened to casually mention it would be so wonderful to have both Ed and Al as his two preferred concubines..... and well. Now we have this story that just isn't cooperating because I want to write Paradox, but this one is being an attention whore. So. Everyone can thank Ling for this.
> 
> Please be aware this work may contain sensitive subject matter. PLEASE READ THE TAGS. In order to write a story where Edward and Alphonse get involved sexually, it really felt like some of the issues they might deal with had to be addressed. It's written for adults and addresses issues two young teenage brothers may face if they entered an incestuous relationship. If the subject matter is making you uncomfortable in any way I'd advise moving onto another story. 
> 
> I'm taking a slightly different approach to this since it wasn't ever supposed to come about in the first place. No idea how long it will be between updates because I'm writing longer chapters just to see if I can. As it stands I think this will end up being 5 or 6 chapters long. (And that's if Ling decides he doesn't want to hear more about the Elrics.....I'm really hoping if this plot bunny won't go away it will at least be satisfied with smaller pieces.)

**Central, Amestris**

**June  1919**

          Roy Mustang wearily looked around his office.  His team was still hard at work in the outer office just as they had been two years ago when the Elric brothers had disappeared for the last time from his life.  After Edward and Alphonse had left Roy had stayed in Central and resigned his enlisted position in the Northern outpost so he could resume his duty as Brigadier General.  It had been one of the hardest decisions of his life, but he could no longer hide behind Edward’s death.  Edward was very much alive and he wouldn’t forgive Roy for not living as well.

          In the aftermath of the attack from the portal Roy’s team had come across a helmet just like the one Alphonse had worn all those many years ago.  Roy had claimed that helmet and it sat now upon a bookshelf in his office.  Often he felt his eyes drawn to it and thought of the Elrics and what they could possibly be doing in that other world. 

          Tonight Roy was by himself in the office and was working late at the paperwork he’d put off as usual.  Hawkeye had informed him this paperwork **would** be completed before he left the office tonight as her fingers twitched toward her pistol.  Meekly he’d acquiesced to her statement because he knew she was the real reason his office operated as well as it did.  And so now he was doggedly trying to finish said paperwork.  He was so focused on the paperwork it took a moment for him to understand the voice speaking in his office.

          “General?  That **is** you!  I’ve been trying for so long to find a way to reach you.  It was much harder from this side because alchemy doesn’t work over here so the soul-bonding was much more difficult.  Especially since I can’t direct it as well when I’m dreaming…”

          The voice sounded disturbingly like Alphonse Elric’s and Roy for a moment wondered if he’d fallen asleep in his office again.  He glanced fuzzily over at the helmet and saw a white glow peering out from the eyes.  Attention caught, Roy blinked once before barking out “Alphonse  
Elric!  Is your brother with you and well?”

          If an armored head could have smiled this one did.  “Yes Brother is with me and is as well as can be expected.  Tell me, did you ever close the portal on your side?”

          Roy frowned before admitting “We weren’t able to.  I’ve got someone on guard at all times with a radio in case there’s any movement from it, but that’s the best we could do.  It would have needed both you and your brother to fully close it.”

          “But that’s wonderful!” the helmet gushed.  “If the portal is still open on your end then all I need to do is find a power source on this end.  And convince Brother that going back is the best for everyone.  Thank you, General.  I will contact you again when I can – this dreaming soul-bond is difficult to maintain.”

          “Wait, before you go…” Roy took in a breath and let it out all at once.  “Please tell Edward he is always in my thoughts.  And call me Roy, Alphonse.  I look forward to speaking with you again.”

          “I’ll tell Brother.  Thank you, Roy.”  The glow faded from the eyes of the helmet and Roy knew he was gone.  He laced his shaking fingers together and placed them behind his head as he leaned back in his chair.  _The Elrics were alive and Alphonse was searching for a way to get them home._ Suddenly feeling energized Roy began to hum as he went back to the paperwork Hawkeye had given him for the evening.

**Paris, France**

**June  1925**

          Alphonse slid back into his physical body and took a deep breath as his body began the process of waking up.  He took a few more breaths to ground himself before blinking his eyes open and allowing himself a fierce smile.  He’d reached Roy Mustang at last!  He’d been trying to reach Mustang for months now and finally, **finally** he’d accomplished his goal. 

          Alphonse turned his head slightly to take in the sight of his brother asleep on the pillow next to him. The dreams where Ed cried out for Roy had been going on since they’d gone through the Gate and it broke Al’s heart every time to hear his brother’s grief. He’d brought up trying to communicate with Roy, but Ed had been ambivalent for the longest time. Alphonse was desperate to find a way back to Amestris and he needed Ed’s help to get there. He still hadn’t brought up what Ed was worried about with Roy, but he’d found the connection and the rest he could work out.  

          Speaking of dreams, it sounded as if a nightmare was troubling Ed at the moment.  His older brother frowned and shook his head slightly while mumbling “no you **can** separate them, Tucker.  How could you put them together without knowing how to take them apart?  You **have** to, it’s Nina!”

          Alphonse felt sorrow grip him at the thought of the girl they’d been unable to save from a terrible alchemic transmutation her father had inflicted on her.  Both brothers had terrible nightmares and only the other was able to soothe the nightmare away.  Al reached over and smoothed the hair out of Ed’s face before sliding himself into the crease of Ed’s tightened frame. 

          “It’s only a dream, it’s over we’re safe now Brother,” he whispered into Ed’s ear before kissing his cheek.  He kept repeating the words and stroking Ed’s hair until Ed stilled and blinked at him. 

          “Al….I was dreaming about Nina,” Ed whispered.  He slowly relaxed at the feel of Al’s hand in his hair and Al’s body against his own.

          “I know Brother.  But it’s over now and we need to get some more sleep,” Al responded lowly before sighing into Ed’s neck.  “Roll over so I can cuddle you,” the younger brother ordered sleepily.

          Ed obeyed and pulled Al’s arm more securely around him.  “Love you Al” he muttered before drifting back to sleep.

          Al nuzzled closer to Ed’s neck.  _I love you, too Brother.  And I really hope you understand that I contacted Roy because I know how much you love him.  And if Roy doesn’t want you back because of us I just may kill him myself._ Al stretched cat like against Ed before settling and falling asleep.

**Munich, Germany 1923**

After returning through the Gate to Germany the Elrics had struggled with how to close the portal without alchemy.  The now defunct Thule society was also working on a way to close the portal as it feared anyone else coming through.  The first step was to kill Envy as the homunculus had basically been the battery for the portal.  Ed hadn’t felt too badly about finally ending Envy’s existence since the homunculus had killed their father without batting an eye.  Once Envy was no longer powering the portal is closed on its own.

* * *

 

          The Elrics had briefly spent time in Munich at the flat Gracia had lent them, but after Alfons Heiderich’s memorial service they’d traveled with Noah’s fellow gypsies for almost six months.  The brothers had learned much of the different areas of this new world while traveling.  They had also learned that their nightmares had not abated once crossing through to the other side of the Gate.  Some nights there was no sleep to be had until finally Edward and Alphonse pulled their sleeping blankets next to each other.  Whenever one brother had a nightmare the other would instantly awaken and could soothe the other back from the terror. 

          Because of the nightmares and the return of Alphonse’s memories of the time he was armor the brothers began to discuss their situation in new ways.  It had never occurred to them before, but when they had attempted to transmute their mother the brothers had sewn their souls together.  Discussing alchemical theory led to a very intense conversation regarding the reality that their two souls were essentially tied together for the rest of their lives.  Neither was entirely sure what this would mean for them, but both were adamant about finding a way back to Amestris if at all possible.  The world they occupied currently had just been through a truly terrible war and whispers of a new one beginning had been talked about in every province they’d visited.

          After returning to Munich from their travels, Edward had been pulled aside by Hughes.  Gracia and Hughes were dating and she had confessed concern as to what might happen to the brothers if the rumored war were to erupt.  Hughes had reached out to some of his sources and had false traveling papers produced for both Edward and Alphonse.  Edward’s papers stated his age was 20 rather than his own 18 years of age and Alphonse’s papers had changed his age by two years as well.  Hughes explained that brothers aged 20 and 15 would have an easier time getting through the various checkpoints than brothers aged 18 and 13. 

          Edward had been grateful for the documents and began researching which area would be best to flee to.  He’d enrolled Alphonse in a local school and to neither of the brothers’ surprise the curriculum was material Alphonse had covered as a ten year old.  But Alphonse enjoyed playing sports with the other students and so for a couple of months things went well.

          Then a younger sibling of one of the students noticed Ed’s auto-mail and the brothers barely escaped the panic that ensued from the locals.  They were forced to say hard and fast goodbyes to Gracia and Hughes before fleeing to Paris, France in December of 1923.

* * *

 

          Leaving the only place they’d thought of as home wasn’t easy and traveling during the winter was painful for Ed as his auto-mail shrank a bit from the cold and his wounds ached fiercely.  Still they were able to find a small apartment with a fireplace and began to settle into their new city.  Ed was able to quite quickly find a position at one of the universities by showing his knowledge of physics and chemistry.  After his first couple of payments he and Al began to look into programs Al could enroll in.  Having papers that said Al was 15 made it easier to get him into an advanced program than if the university had known his actual age.  Of course the same went for Ed’s teaching ability.

          Al loved Paris with its museums, art galleries, and casual acceptance of artists and their eccentricities.  Nobody commented on Edward’s long hair here as they had in Munich.  After the debacle with the sight of Ed’s auto-mail Al had made the decision to stay on the outskirts of his fellow students.  They were beginning to be happy here and staying on the periphery was the way to keep anyone from seeing anything unusual.

          Sleeping arrangements had been simple enough as their small apartment consisted of one large room with the fireplace and another small kitchen area.  The bathroom was shared between two other apartments and Ed hoped to soon have enough funds to move into an apartment that had its own bathroom.  The two small mattresses were easy to push together to keep the nightmares at bay.  But Al didn’t know what to do when Ed had  dreams about Roy.  Hearing his brother cry out for Roy in his sleep hurt Al’s heart.  Those dreams only made him more determined to find a way back to Amestris.

* * *

 

          Just after Al’s 14th birthday (well physical birthday, mentally he was 18 now) he began experiencing urges that thoroughly embarrassed him.  During the day he was fine as he went about his classes and focused on homework and other projects.  But at night when he woke with a throbbing he’d never had to deal with before he was miserable.  Ed had noticed Al getting up to use the bathroom several times at night and asked if everything was alright.  When Alphonse promptly blushed Ed thought back to his own hormonal teenage years and realized what part of the problem was.

          The next evening as Alphonse was preparing their meager meal Ed casually placed a couple of jars on the counter beside him.  “This might help,” he said quietly.  “I remember having….issues as a teenager, too.  If you aren’t careful you can get chaffing so make sure and use that.”

          Al blinked at him in confusion, but Ed didn’t elaborate as he feared embarrassing his younger brother.  After Ed had turned to take up his customary spot next to the fireplace Al looked over the jars and realized what Ed had procured for him.

          “Brother when you were going through this….did it happen every night?”  Because in all honesty Al was a bit exhausted from the demands of his body and was hoping it would be ending soon.

          Ed frowned a bit in concern.  “How often are you having problems Al?  Don’t be embarrassed, every guy goes through it.”

          Al worried his bottom lip a bit before clearing his throat and offering “It’s a lot.  Sometimes three or four times a night and then again in the morning.”

          Ed’s eyebrows raised at that as he realized this was more than what he’d gone through.  “That IS a lot, Al.  I mean, I got horny but usually it was just in the morning right after I woke up and then occasionally I’d dream about Roy and….yeah.  I wonder….” He’d thought of something and was frowning fiercely over it as it occurred to him that some simple jars of lubrication may not take care of the problem.

          “Just tell me what it is, Ed.  I’m embarrassed enough already, if there’s something potentially wrong I need to know what it is.”  Alphonse watched his brother with narrowed eyes as he finished putting the stew makings together.  After thoroughly cleaning his hands he walked over to join Ed near the fireplace.

          “It’s just a thought, but it **might** be because when you should have been experiencing adolescence the first time there was no physical form for the hormones to build in.  What if….there’s a slight possibility that you might be experiencing two sets of hormones now.” 

          Al sank down on one of the poor excuses for a chair they’d found and tried to gather his thoughts.  “But what does that even mean?  How could that even **work**?  The human body isn’t made to be that way Ed!”

          “Yeah but both of our bodies have been through things that aren’t normally possible Al.  Our souls are tied together for crying out loud!  You had no hormones during your first time around as a teenager and now it seems like your hormones are going haywire because you’ve got a body for your second adolescence.  It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”  Ed wasn’t happy with his conclusion, but it WAS the only thing that made any sense.  He rubbed his forehead in irritation and glanced over at his brother.

          Al stared blankly into the fire for a few moments.  “Okay if you’re right what does that mean?  I can’t keep waking up to go into the bathroom and masturbate every night Ed.  What did…how did you manage your hormones when you were a teen?”

          Edward’s eyes met his briefly then slid away.  “I had Roy,” he answered quietly. 

          Al frowned fiercely as he tried to work this out.  “Okay you had Roy and you and Roy had lots of sex and that was it?  So I just need to find someone to have sex with?  That’s not going to be a problem at all since I’m only 14 years old physically and, oh yeah, WE CAN’T GET CLOSE TO ANYONE.  Ed what the hell am I going to do?”  Alphonse was practically screeching by the end of his rant.

          Ed looked a bit pained but pointed out “It wasn’t just the sex, Al.  Roy and I…we loved each other.  We shouldn’t have, but we did and that was the end of it.  We belonged to each other in a way I’ve never belonged to anyone but you.  And I don’t know exactly what we’re gonna do yet, but we’ll figure it out together.”

          Ed got up to come sit next to Alphonse and wrapped him in a soothing hug.  Al couldn’t help breathing in his brother’s scent and relaxing just from the familiar smell.  They sat like that for a couple of minutes then Ed got up to dish out the stew and day old bread they were having that night.

**May 1924, Paris**

          It had been going on for three weeks now and because Al was becoming exhausted Edward had told him to stop getting up in the middle of the night to go out to the communal bathroom.  Ed made sure there were lots of extra cloths and a jar of lubricant next to Al’s side of the bed and on the few occasions when Ed woke up in the middle of the night he would rub his brother’s back soothingly until he finished.  It was awkward, but at least Al wasn’t as exhausted as he had been.

          And try as he might Edward was no closer to finding a solution to their problem.  Alphonse had been right that they couldn’t get close enough to anyone else for Al to have a sexual relationship with them.  And when he thought about it Ed wasn’t at all comfortable with the idea of some relative stranger touching his brother sexually.  It just seemed wrong that Al should have to resort to that when Edward knew what a loving sexual relationship was like. 

          The only good thing that had come from Al’s hormonal attack was the nightmares had lessened.  It was like his body could only concentrate on one type of sleep disturbance at a time.  Ed’s nightmares were still happening as they normally did, and sometimes he would dream of Roy and wake up feeling worse than if he had been having a nightmare. 

          There seemed no end to it until the night their bodies hijacked both the brothers with hormones and emotional turmoil.  Edward dreamed of Roy’s lips on his, Roy’s hands caressing him, Ed joining their bodies together.  The dream felt more real than any other he’d had of Roy since they’d come to this side of the Gate.  As he was waking from the dream he realized he was on top of Alphonse and while both had their boxers on it was obvious their erections had been rubbing against each other for more than a few seconds.  Al had his hands against Ed’s ass through his boxers and his body was very happy to be where it was.  So happy that almost at the same time Ed realized what was happening Al finished with a grunt.  Ed felt some of that warmth spill onto him and couldn’t stop his own release.  He managed a gasped out “Oh fuck” before moving off his brother and half falling into his pillow.  His breathing was still ragged and he heard Al murmur with some amazement “That was so much better…”

          “Al…we have a problem,” he panted wearily. 

          “I know, Brother.  Can we talk about it tomorrow?” Al hesitantly reached over to rub Ed’s back.

          “Yeah, okay.  Tomorrow,” Ed mumbled sleepily.  _How is it that having almost sex with my brother made me closer to Roy than I’ve felt since we got here?_ Slightly horrified, Ed allowed himself to fall into an uneasy sleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed gets some unexpected good news and Al decides he's going to find a way to get them home to Amestris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will not usually take place this quickly, but with the holiday I've been able to get quit a bit of writing done in the last few days. 
> 
> For continuity purposes the Elric's birthdays will be as follows: Ed's birthday is January 31, 1899 and Al's is April 15, 1900 in the Amestrian timeline.

Alphonse had already been up and had his shower by the time Edward crawled out of bed the next morning.  Mornings were always full of not being awake enough and getting out the door **just in time** for Edward to make it to the first class he taught on time.  Today however he was met with a note taped on his classroom door that class was cancelled.   
Frowning he made his way to his office and found a letter from Nancy, the secretary of the head of the Mathematics department.  Technically even though Ed taught physics and chemistry which were both sciences he fell under the mathematics listing because he’d been hired provisionally for his ability to write code out better than anyone else at the University.  The letter requested he come see Nancy as soon as possible regarding important developments. 

          Edward made his way to Nancy’s desk worrying the entire way.  _Al and I still have to talk and if they’re firing me we are so fucked.  We can’t get thrown out of our apartment right now!_   He arrived at Nancy’s desk and was nonplussed to see the older lady give him a welcoming smile.

          “Ah Professor Elric I see you received my note.  The department head was going to tell you the good news, but he had something come up unexpectedly, so I get to tell you.”  Nancy beamed at him while Edward felt some of the tension leave his body.  _Not getting fired then_.

          “You never told any of us you picked up languages so fast, so now that you no longer need the translator for your classes the University wants to take you on as tenured faculty.  That means you are entitled to one of the faculty apartments and I’m going to show you where yours is.  We were a bit concerned because the apartments are normally meant for single professors, but this one has an extra room that could be used for your younger brother so it’s just perfect for you!  Shall we go look at it?”  Nancy was standing and ushering him out the door as Ed struggled to walk and pick his mouth up off the floor.

          “Wait, what does tenured faculty mean?  I’m sorry I’m still so new to Paris and I don’t quite understand…” Edward gave Nancy a confused look as she continued to pull him out into the courtyard. 

          “Oh my dear sometimes I forget that you’re not used to how we do things here.  Tenured faculty members get a furnished apartment near the University that they don’t have to pay out of pocket for.  They also get approximately three times as much in payment as provisional faculty members.  Congratulations Professor Elric you have managed to thoroughly impress your colleagues and department head.”  She beamed at him again as she led him across the street and down two blocks. 

          They stopped outside a bakery that smelled heavenly and Ed pulled himself out of his stupor long enough to frown at the windows.  “My apartment is a bakery?”

          Nancy almost fell over laughing and had to wipe her eyes several times before she could answer him.  “Oh my you are so funny!  Your apartment is up these stairs, come along now.”

          Ed followed her through another door and up the stairs to a single doorway that Nancy grinned at and handed him two keys.  “One for you and one for your brother,” she answered at his raised brows.  Ed inserted the key into the lock and opened the front door. 

          The entrance and living area alone were bigger than the entire apartment they were living in now.  Ed slowly walked through the furnished apartment which included its own bathroom, a kitchen area, a main bedroom, a smaller one that looked as if it had been previously used as a study, and back into the living area which had a huge fireplace and built-in bookshelves.  He managed to make it to the sofa and sit down before his flesh leg gave out.  “I…..I didn’t do anything special why did they give me this?”

          Nancy blinked at him a couple of times and seemed to realize he was serious and not fishing for compliments.  “My dear, do you really not understand the gift you have given to this University?  It is always difficult to find competent mathematicians, and now we have one who can also teach physics and chemistry.  One word of caution, if you do ever need to leave the area for any reason unexpectedly don’t tell anyone at the University.  They will try to hang onto you if they can.”  Nancy gazed meaningfully at him and he realized she was warning him in her own way that if he and Alphonse needed to flee to avoid military service for France they would need to be extremely discreet and hasty. 

          Ed gave Nancy one of his full-blown smiles, the ones he saved only for those who had come to mean something to him.  Seeing his understanding she nodded back before adding briskly “You have today and tomorrow to completely move your belongings from your other residence into your apartment.  After that you’ll be expected to teach your courses as you normally would.  Please let us know what furniture you will need to turn the study into a suitable bedroom for your brother.”

          Ed scratched his head thoughtfully.  “I think the only thing that will need changing is to take the desk out and put a bed in.  Al has almost as many books as I do now so he’ll need that bookshelf.  He’ll also need a dresser.”

          “I’ll let them know.  You should be able to expect the new bed and dresser later today.  Congratulations again, Professor Elric,” she said with a twinkling smile and she let herself out.

          Ed was still unable to get up, but was starting to believe this had actually happened.  _Something good happened.  Nothing good has ever happened here except that Al came through the Gate with me last time.  Maybe things will get a little easier now.  I wish I could show this place to Roy…._

          Familiar sorrow filled Ed at the thought of Roy, but he made himself take a deep breath and then get up to look around the apartment once again.

* * *

 

          When Alphonse arrived home from his classes Ed was waiting for him.  Alphonse tilted his head at him as he tried to figure out what was different, but then he noticed all the books were gone.  Startled his eyes darted back to Ed’s who only gave him a smile.

          “Brother what’s happening?”  Al was beginning to panic because if the BOOKS were gone then something bad must have happened.

          “Something good happened today, but I’m just gonna show you.  Come on, we’ll pick up some food on the way.”  Ed gave him another mysterious grin and walked out the front door.  Al had no choice but to follow him, so out the door he went.

          Al worried his bottom lip the entire time they were walking.  When they finally stopped outside of the bakery Al looked around in confusion.  They had walked past the University to get here, but he could still see the main campus building’s spire from here. 

          Ed was perusing the menu as Al finally turned around to focus on him.  “What do you think?  Their sandwiches look pretty good but maybe we should get some stew, too.”

          Alphonse peered at the menu and realized how hungry he was.  “Let’s get that and some of those pastries for in the morning.  You still haven’t told me where we’re going Ed.”

          “It’s not far now.  And I can’t wait to see your face when we get there.”  Ed could barely contain his grin, but Al was just confused so he didn’t say anything.

          Ed paid for their food and began heading back outside.  He waited for Alphonse to join him then pulled open the door next to the bakery entrance.  “Come on up these stairs, Al.”

          Shaking his head, Al followed Ed with no idea what was going on.  They reached the top of the stairs and Edward handed Al a key.  “Here you go, can you open that door?  My hands are kind of full.”

          Al gave a puzzled look at the key, but shrugged his shoulders and put it into the lock.  After the lock clicked he pushed the door open, but Ed breezed past him as if he owned the place.  “Ed!  What are you doing we can’t just walk in!”

          After sitting the food on the table Ed turned to beam at his brother.  “Actually we can just walk in.  This is our new place, Al.  The University decided to hire me as a full-time professor and this is part of the package.  Go on – look around!  The place is amazing and has everything we need.”

          Alphonse thought a joke was being played on him, but Ed walked past to shut the front door and bolt it.  Ed really was acting like this place was theirs, but…he turned and saw several of their books on the bookshelf.  _If the books are here, then this really IS our new home._

          His feet finally became unstuck from the floor and he slowly began wandering around the place.  The bathroom was amazing – it had not only a claw foot bathtub, but also a small shower built into the corner.  No more having to share with the neighbors!  He looked into the doorway of the master bedroom and noticed the desk, dresser, bookshelf, and quite large bed.  The next room had a smaller bed, and bookshelf along with a small dresser.  Al stood in that doorway for longer than he had anywhere else and Ed came up to grin at him.

          “Isn’t it perfect?  And the best part is this is included as part of the package.  We don’t have to pay a rooming fee for this AND my pay tripled!  As long as we don’t have any incidents we’ll be set here for a good long while.”

          Ed finally noticed Al had been silent while he prattled on.  He walked around so he could see Al’s face as he asked “Hey what’s wrong?”

          Alphonse swallowed and glanced away from Ed.  “This is my room isn’t it?  Is it because of last night?  Because I thought we were going to talk about it….”

          Edward felt like an idiot as he realized the smaller bedroom might come off as a punishment.  “Technically it’s your bedroom because we have to keep up appearances and if anyone were to come by and we didn’t have a second bedroom for you…well.  That would be bad.  But, like you said we do need to talk about what happened.  Come on let’s go back into the living area.”

          Ed had Al sit down on the couch and brought sandwiches and hot coffee over so they could eat while they talked.  They were both nervous about this, but it had to be done and the Elrics never shirked from anything.

          “I’ve been thinking about it all day between classes,” Al began as Ed took a bite of his sandwich.  “And the only thing that makes any sort of sense is that because our souls are tied together our bodies are trying to merge us together.  Alchemical theory shows that a soul will always try to return to its body.  And since our souls are between our bodies…well our bodies are trying to merge sexually.”  Al took in a miserable breath and shook his head.  “But I don’t really understand beyond the alchemical theory of our souls why this is happening.  You’re in love with Roy and I want to get married and have children one day.  I’ve **never** been sexually attracted to you before Ed.  This is…it’s embarrassing and I don’t know what to do about it.”

          Edward had been slowly nodding in agreement with what Al was saying.  “I love you Al, you know I do.  But yeah, I’m **in** love with Roy and you’re right, I’ve never been sexually attracted to you either.  Maybe it’s because we’re cut off from everyone and everything we know and love back home in Amestris.  I mean, we really **can’t** form any real relationships here because people don’t know what auto-mail is and they freak out if they see it.  This thing that’s happening between us right now…society would look down upon it.  To be honest I don’t really give a shit what anyone else thinks, but I’m not thrilled this is happening.  But I also don’t want you to have to go get sexual attention from some stranger.  And there’s the issue that you’re mentally 18, but physically 14.  I’m pretty sure the age of consent is 16 here just like it is in Amestris.  Sure we have false papers that say you’re already 16, but would you want to just grab some random person off the streets to have sex with?”

          Al had been nibbling on his sandwich while listening to Ed.  “All that’s true, but I didn’t hear a solution in any of it.  And no, having sex with a stranger isn’t going to work.  The only good thing to come out of last night was that I didn’t wake up horny once afterwards.  This morning wasn’t bad, either.”

          “Okay so here’s the deal Al.  If we keep sleeping in the same bed together, which I’m pretty sure we both want to do because of the fucking nightmares, we’re gonna end up touching each other like we did last night.  And while it felt amazing, I need to know if that’s something that we can both handle.  Because if it’s not we’re gonna need to use both bedrooms.”

          Alphonse was quiet for some time while he ate and thought about how he felt.  Finally he looked at Edward who had just finished his sandwich and was sipping his coffee.  “I think the big question for me is going to be if we do this, and we find a way to get back to Amestris eventually, is this going to change things between you and Roy?”

          Ed swallowed hard and put his coffee down.  “To be honest I’ve given up on getting back to Amestris.  I will **always** love Roy Mustang and if I ever ran across his double here there’s no way I’d ever approach him.  Because it wouldn’t really be Roy and I can’t be with someone who looks and sounds like Roy, but **isn’t** him.  So as far as I’m concerned that’s not an issue.  I wouldn’t know the first thing about how to open up a portal to get home and there’s no telling what toll we might have to pay for that.  It’s just not even worth thinking about.”

         Al sat in silence thinking about that.  “Ed does that mean you just plan on being on your own for the rest of your life?  As long as we’re on this side of the Gate?”

          Ed looked over at the bookshelf as if he couldn’t quite bring himself to meet Al’s gaze.  “Well yeah.  I can’t get close to anyone with my auto-mail.  We can’t trust that they won’t do what those people in Munich did and we have a good deal here now.  I don’t want to chance it.”

          Alphonse felt the anger building deep inside him and at that moment decided he **was** going to find a way to get them home.  They both deserved a chance at happiness and he was damn well going to make sure that happened.

          “Alright Ed, let’s say for now that we’re planning on staying here.  I don’t want to sleep in the smaller bedroom, but I will if that’s what we need to do.  It’s really up to you at this point.  You’re the one with the most to lose if this ever got out.”

          Ed rubbed a hand over his face and looked down at his glove.  “Why don’t we just play it by ear and see what happens.  If it’s not much more than what happened last night then it won’t really matter.”

* * *

 

          That evening Ed woke up and felt Al against his back.  They never fell asleep against each other, but lately he’d woken a few times to find Al’s body spooning his.  It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling so Ed had never said anything about it.

          Things were a bit different now that their bodies had decided sex was a good idea between them.  Ed felt Alphonse’s erection against the back of his ass and drew in a startled breath.  Al was still asleep and had been slowly rocking against Ed.  It was just enough to wake Ed up and he realized the contact had given him a semi-hard on as well.  Thinking quickly he decided to just go with it and lifted his auto-mail leg a bit so Al’s erection settled more between his cheeks. 

          Ed pulled Al’s hand over his waist and laced their fingers together as Al’s body began to rock against his faster.  It was far from unpleasant and Ed bit his lip to keep a moan from getting out.  Alphonse was worked up enough that pre-cum had wet the front of his boxers and that wetness rubbed against Ed every time Al rocked his hips.  Ed couldn’t help his body’s own response and started pushing back onto Al.  It was amazing to have someone touch him like this again.  Even though he didn’t want his brother this way emotionally, Ed couldn’t hide from the fact his body definitely wanted this.  Rocking harder back against Al, Ed drew his auto-mail hand down and pushed it against the front of his boxers.

          Al was breathing rapidly into the back of his neck now and Ed knew it wouldn’t be much longer since Al’s body was 14 and didn’t know how to last yet.  He firmly kept pressure on the front of his cock and shifted his position a bit so Al’s cock was rubbing up against the bottom of his own.  It felt **so good** and he couldn’t quite keep the whimper of need from escaping.

          He could feel his orgasm approaching and didn’t know if he should do anything else for Al, but didn’t have to worry when he felt the warm, wet spill against him.  With two firm strokes of his hand, Ed orgasmed and hugged Al’s arm further up into his chest.  _I don’t know what Roy would think about this, but right now Al and I only have each other.  And I won’t let him go through this alone.  I’ll find a way to make this work.  I **have** to._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to comment on any typos or errors.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though Roy is in Amestris, there are times it feels as if he's in Paris with Ed.

**Central, Amestris**

**July, 1919**

          Roy had moved the helmet to his home after Alphonse’s last ‘visit’ for a number of reasons.  Obviously it wouldn’t do for a superior officer to be in Roy’s office if Alphonse were to pop in and begin talking again.  He also didn’t want to get the hopes up of any of his team members until there was some actual way to get the Elrics home instead of just the belief that they might be able to accomplish the impossible again.  And there were some things he wanted to talk to Alphonse about that he just couldn’t mention in the office.

          It had been a month since he’d last spoken to Alphonse and Roy tried very hard not to get his hopes up as Al had mentioned this type of soul-bond was difficult to achieve.  Roy spent a couple of hours every evening in his study before a fireplace going over paperwork and he’d placed the helmet in this room.  The best he could hope for was Alphonse would try contacting him around the same time as he had last time and this was why he’d begun spending more time in his study in the evenings.  It wasn’t an unpleasant place to spend time and there were also some pleasant memories of the times he and Edward had spent in this room that decided the location.

          He was fairly deep in paperwork when Alphonse’s voice came to him.  “Hello Roy, have you been busy since we last spoke?”

          Startled, Roy lifted his head to stare blankly, then smiled as he realized Alphonse had again come to speak with him.  “Hawkeye always manages to keep me busier than I’d like to be.  How are you and Edward?”

          Alphonse sighed a bit before answering.  “We’re well, but I need to get Ed back to Amestris.  Do you have any idea what it’s like living in a world where nobody knows what auto-mail is?  We had to leave the home where we had friends because someone at a sports function saw Ed’s leg and panicked.  Now we can’t even get close to anyone because we don’t want to have to leave another country.”

          Roy realized he’d never thought of what it would be like to live in a world with no auto-mail because Ed’s auto-mail had become so very much a part of his life.  Alphonse sounded miserable describing the paranoia they must constantly live in and Roy didn’t know quite how to respond.  He finally settled on “Your former friends never wondered about his auto-mail?”

          Alphonse was quiet for a moment before answering.  “It was….Mr. Hughes and Gracia and I think Gracia might have seen Ed’s auto-mail once, but she just didn’t care because she loved Ed.  There are….doubles of the people we knew at home here and it can get…confusing sometimes.”  Alphonse drew in a shuddering breath before continuing.  “We were walking home to our apartment one afternoon and Ed just stopped right in front of me.  I almost ran into him, but he grabbed me and pulled me back into the shadow of an alley.  He was white as a sheet and when I looked across the street at what he was looking at….it was you.  Or a version of you.  Ed wouldn’t say anything until the other you was gone.  And after that day he changed the way we went home so that we’d never risk running into him again.  Ed…he can’t meet another you because it would hurt too much, Roy.  It wouldn’t be the real you and we could do it with Mr. Hughes because he’s gone, but you’re not.  And I **have** to get him home.”

          Roy swallowed with effort.  “I miss him, too.  More than I can really talk about to anyone but yourself.  Have you had any luck researching a way to return to Amestris?”

          “Well yes and no.  There’s no alchemy here, but there is a belief in ‘old magic’ that I’ve been looking into.  It was concentrated around the Celtic tribes and the Italian witches, but there are numerous standing stones around Europe.  I’m trying to find out which would be closest to our current location and look into which of the old festivals built the most magical energy.  There’s an interesting theory that during one festival the veil between the worlds opens so I’m trying to get as much information on that as I can.”

          Roy rolled all this over in his head.  It really wasn’t very much to go on and there was little he could do on the Amestris side of the Gate.  Quietly he asked “Is there anything at all I can do for you and Edward?”

          Alphonse drew in an excited little breath as he thought of something.  “These soul-bonds can’t last long, but if you could write to Brother and read me the letters I could tell him what they said when I get back.  It wouldn’t be quite the same as hearing your voice, but it might give him some hope.”

          “Short letters, then.  Yes I can write to Edward and read them to you so you can relay them to him.  If you do ever come across anything I can do to help you get back to Amestris please don’t hesitate to tell me, Alphonse.”

          “I think the letters will be helpful.  Brother is being…difficult about researching a way back to Amestris.  He doesn’t know what the toll will be and…there have been some complications.”  Alphonse’s voice trailed off uncomfortably and Roy frowned.

          “Complications…?” he began, but Alphonse cut him off.  “I’m sorry, but I can’t keep this up anymore.  I’ll tell you next time, I promise!”

          Roy couldn’t quite understand what would keep Ed from wanting to at least research a way back through the Gate.  Nothing had been able to stop him from searching for a way to restore Alphonse’s body.  It occurred to Roy that Ed may think the toll would cost part of the body he’d fought so hard to regain for Al, and of course he would pause at that.  The only person who might be able to convince him to pursue that risk would be Alphonse.

          _Very well then, I’ll write to Edward as you suggested Alphonse.  Maybe between the two of us we can convince him it’s worth the risk._

**September 1924, Paris**

          It was still very hot, but the change of the seasons was beginning to take place.  The summer had been hard on Ed because he had to wear full body clothing anytime he left the apartment.  The brothers had been able to find some very lightweight clothes that Ed switched to in the heat, but there were times when it was very uncomfortable.  Alphonse had finally placed an extra pair of gloves and lightweight coat next to their front door in case there were any deliveries because Ed typically stripped down to just his pants at home.  The paranoia of having to leave their home in Paris and start all over again was a very real thing for the brothers.

          Edward didn’t know that Alphonse was looking into possible means to get them back to Amestris.  He was still firm on his stance that going back to Amestris was a bad idea and anytime Al tried to bring it up Ed would abruptly change the subject. 

          Because of his faculty income Edward had been quietly creating an escape fund for them just in case they had to leave unexpectedly again.  All the care in the world wouldn’t save them from panicked citizens if his auto-mail was discovered and they didn’t have Hughes to provide a way out for them this time.

          Edward enjoyed spending time with his fellow faculty and they all thought him a bit eccentric in always wearing a coat and gloves, but enjoyed his company nonetheless.  Alphonse always seemed to be studying something, but then having noses in books was second nature to the brothers, so Ed never really thought much about it.

          Over the months their bodies had become accustomed to sleeping as close to each other as possible.  At some point they’d decided to leave off with the boxers as it really just created more of an issue than not wearing them did.  Nightmares were still a problem, but it seemed as if Alphonse’s hormonal overload was somewhat soothed just by the proximity of Ed’s naked body.  It had taken some getting used to, but both Al and Ed had accepted that part of staying on this side of the Gate meant giving in to the needs of their bodies.

          Gradually they had begun touching each other more while awake instead of having it always begin while sleeping.  The touches weren’t always sexual, but if anyone outside of their home were to see them they would wonder if anything unusual were going on.  Alphonse had become quite adept at massaging around Ed’s auto-mail ports, and many times the massages led to something more.  During one of these times Alphonse had curiously nudged Ed’s cock with his nose.  “Will my body change as I grow older?  You’re so much more developed than I am…”

          Ed wrinkled his nose at Al in confusion.  “What do you mean?  You’re already the same height I am and you’re probably going to be much taller than me.”

          “Well yes, but other parts of you are….fuller than mine.”  Alphonse slowly ran a finger the length of Ed and smiled a bit as Ed sucked in a startled breath.  “When you were with Roy were you like this?”

          Al moved his hand to Ed’s hip as he waited for Ed’s response.  The frown on Ed’s face indicated he was trying to remember four years ago and if his body had been different.  His eyebrows raised a bit as he realized there had been some changes since then.  “Yeah I guess you’re right, but I just hadn’t thought about it.  I got a bit…wider in the last few years but I never noticed because” Ed stopped abruptly.

          “Because you weren’t with anyone here,” Al finished for him quietly.  “Brother I think you need to know that I still want to find a way for us to get back to Amestris.  This is working between us now, but I can’t just stand by and watch you be alone for the rest of your life.  Roy loves you…he will love you after he finds out what’s happened here.”  Alphonse stopped and looked at Ed’s face carefully to see how he was taking this.  “I’m working on a way to communicate with Roy, but I haven’t been able to reach him yet.  Do you really think he won’t want you anymore because of what we’ve done?”

          Ed swallowed hard.  He ran his auto-mail hand down to Al’s on his hip to hold hands.  “I don’t know what he’d think.  I’m scared of what he might do, Al.  Roy and I never expected to fall for each other.  He’d had some relationships before that meant something, but nothing like this.  We…were going to find a way to spend the rest of our lives together, but this whole being on another world thing.  We could never have planned for this **or** for your unique adolescence and our souls trying to merge our bodies.  And there’s still the possibility that if we do get back to Amestris…even when you’re older our souls are gonna keep pulling at our bodies.  Have you thought about that at all?”

          Alphonse gazed stubbornly back at Edward.  “That **is** a possibility, but I think once my hormones level out we’ll be able to handle it.  I’m going to keep looking for a way back and I’d like for you to help me.” 

          “If you can contact Roy and tell him, and he accepts everything, then I'll help you.  But I can’t do it until I know what he thinks, Al.  This isn’t something that most people would be able to accept and deal with.  Anywhere we’ve ever lived there have been laws against incest.  There has never been anything like what’s happened to us.  I doubt anyone would ever understand, let alone accept what we’re doing.  Even in Amestris we’d have to hide just like we do here.  At least this place is safe – nobody can hear anything through these walls.”

          Alphonse crawled up next to Ed on the bed and put his arms around him.  “Alright.  I’ll research on my own until I can give you a good response from Roy.  I can’t accept that you might have to live the rest of your life in hiding because of the auto-mail.  And then you will help me, Brother.  Now I’m going to take a bath.  Would you like to join me?  The water might help your joints…”  
          “Yeah I’ll be right there,” Ed murmured as Al got up and headed toward the bathroom. 

**December 1924, Paris**

          Ed woke up and shivered, pulling both the many covers and Alphonse closer.  It was cold enough tonight they’d pulled the mattress out of the bedroom and into the living area where the fireplace was.  He’d woken because the fire had gone out and with a sigh Ed resigned himself to getting up to start it again.  Al frowned in his sleep when Edward left his side, and by the time Ed had the fire going again Al was looking at him sleepily. 

          “Has sleeping in here made it easier, Brother?” he asked around a yawn.  Ed smiled at him before climbing back under the blankets.  “Yeah the warmth helps a bit.  I don’t ache as much in here.”

          Ed took up his customary position with Al spooning him and chuckled a bit.  “Well it looks like it’s a good thing I got up to tend the fire.  Feeling a bit frisky are you?”

          Alphonse sighed into Ed’s shoulder.  “Oh you know it’s not as bad as it used to be.  I would have been fine to just go back to sleep tonight, but since you brought it up…” Al rocked slowly up against Ed’s ass.  “It’s been a bit since you had a dream about Roy…would you rather not tonight?”

          Edward rolled over and met Al’s eyes.  “You know we don’t have to only do this when I’m dreaming of Roy.  This is about what you need, too.  We’ve already agreed that until you talk to Roy we’re going to keep this up until things change."  Ed swallowed momentarily then asked softly "Would you like to try something new tonight, Alphonse?”

          Wide eyes met his.  After a shy smile and nod Ed moved everything off of them since the fire was going strong and keeping them warm.  He sat back on his knees and watched how the firelight reflected off of Alphonse and remembered… _Roy always loved to watch me in front of a fireplace.  I can see now why he loved it so much…Al is practically glowing right now._

          “Brother?”

          Ed smiled down at Al and leaned forward to run his fingertips lightly down his brother’s arms.  Alphonse always had the best reaction when Ed used both hands….he shivered delicately and rolled onto his back.  Edward took the braid out of his hair and let it trail over Alphonse while he slowly breathed out over Al’s chest. 

          Al made the tiniest arch upwards when Ed’s tongue quickly licked just above his navel.  Moving unhurriedly Ed scooted downwards and trailed that tongue right into the crease where Al’s thigh met his hips.  As Al pulled his legs up Ed reached for the jar of lubrication he’d set out just in case.  With a small smile he breathed out over Al’s cock, but didn’t touch him.

          Al let out a bit of a strangled noise and raised his head.  “Umm new is good, but Ed, if you’re just going to breathe over me all night can you just hand me the jar?”

          Ed snorted out a laugh as he coated his two of his flesh fingers with lubrication.  “And people think you’re the patient one,” he murmured.

          “Just sit back and relax, Al.  I think you’ll really like this, but I need you to not tense up.”  He reached with his auto-mail hand underneath Al’s right leg and massaged his cheek.  Then he lay down at an angle where he could tease and torment Al with his breath and tongue.

          Alphonse lay back and turned his head to gaze into the flames.  Flames had always had a hypnotizing effect on him so he kept his gaze on them as the auto-mail rubbed one cheek and another finger began gently circling just to the side of that. 

          “Is this okay?” Ed asked quietly.  Al gave a small hum of assent as that finger moved from circling to pressing.  Ed breathed onto him as the finger moved just a bit inside.  The flames danced in front of Al and Ed’s finger slowly joined the dance.

          At some point another finger joined the first and Al realized his body was rocking unconsciously with Ed’s fingers.  He heard Ed’s voice ask if this was still okay and all he could manage was a choked “don’t stop.”

          Ed’s fingers pushed and pulled inside of him.  Then they curled and hit something and Al almost came up off the blankets.  Wildly he sat up and looked down at Ed who glanced up in concern.  “What…”

          “Come here,” Alphonse rasped.   Frowning, Ed sat up to see what exactly Al wanted.  Al held his hands out to Ed and pulled him down on top of him. 

          “Where’s the jar?”  Ed handed it wordlessly to his brother and waited as Al coated his fingers as well.

          Al lay back down on the pillows and pulled his knees up so Ed had easy access.  Ed raised an eyebrow until Alphonse pulled their cocks together with his lubed hand.  “I won’t last long if you do that again, so you’re going, too.”

          Edward placed his auto-mail hand on Al’s hip for balance and watched Al’s face as his fingers went back to work.  The emotions flickering across his brother’s face made Ed realize why Roy had watched him so very intently during sex.  Watching the effect your body had on another person’s, especially a person you loved, was intoxicating.  Al’s hand moved between them as Ed’s fingers moved inside Al.

          It really didn’t take long, and Ed was grateful for the extra cloths they always had ready as they burrowed back under the covers.  Alphonse pulled him close and whispered “I’m almost ready to try reaching out to Roy.  Just give me some time and then we’ll both be searching for a way home.”

          Ed made a noise of assent and settled back against Al.  He gazed into the flames which weren’t burning as quickly now.  _We’ll try it your way.  And I hope you’re right because if Roy can’t accept this then we’re just gonna stay here and make the best of it.  I won’t risk losing any part of your body to get home unless there’s a reason waiting for both of us there._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went back and did some editing to the first two chapters after I realized the times weren't matching quite like I wanted them to. Please do point out any typos.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst. So much angst.

**Central, Amestris**

**August, 1919**

          Roy had been keeping the small stack of letters he’d written to Edward in his study so that whenever Alphonse was able to contact him again they’d be readily available.  He was a bit troubled by the thought of the complications Al had mentioned, but kept himself from obsessing over that thought by writing to letters to Ed.

          He glanced up and over at the helmet when he heard “Hello Roy.  Did you write the letters to Ed like I asked?”

          Roy smiled at the helmet.  He really didn’t know if Alphonse could see him or not, but preferred to think that he could.  “Yes I wrote quite a few, but tried to keep them short since we don’t have much time during your visits.”  
          “That’s great, and I’m hoping you can read me a couple of them so I can relay them to Ed.  But first….” If a helmet could take in a bracing breath this one was.  “I need to tell you something.”

          “You’d mentioned complications earlier, is that what you need to tell me about?”

          “Yes.  You remember I told you we have to be very careful not to get close to anyone because of Ed’s auto-mail?  Okay, remember that.  Also, I don’t know how much Ed ever told you about when we tried to bring Mom back, but during the human transmutation we sort of tied our souls together.”

          Roy frowned as this seemed to ring a bell in his head.  He’d studied lots of alchemical theory and while he’d never gotten as deep into human transmutation as the Elrics two bodies sharing souls sounded off. 

          “Go ahead Alphonse, I’m still listening.”

          Another deep breath sound was heard from the helmet.  “There’s also this thing where I’m living through a second adolescence.  And since I had no physical form during the first one the only thing we’ve been able to come up with is that my body is now producing a double dose of hormones.”

          Roy’s frown increased as his brain began to pick out certain phrases from the times he’d spoken with Alphonse.  _We can’t get close to anyone….our souls are tied together….my body is producing a double dose of hormones….Edward is being difficult about finding a way back to Amestris._ Roy remembered his own adolescence and the physical needs of his body.  He swallowed hard as something began to pound through his skull.  _Edward would never allow a stranger to touch Alphonse at this age….Edward doesn’t want to come home….oh my God_.

          For a moment it seemed as if all of the air in the room was just gone.  Roy was finally able to force air back into his lungs and realized Alphonse had been calling his name in concern.

          He held up his hand and breathed in a few more breaths before lifting his head to look at the helmet.  “Alphonse, are you trying oh so delicately to tell me that you and Edward are sexually intimate?”

          If the helmet could have looked down, it would have.  There was silence for a few moments before Alphonse answered quietly “Ed doesn’t think you’ll want him anymore.  Neither of us is happy that this started, but I was exhausted from waking up all night to…and…my body calms down when I’m with Ed.  And he dreams about you **all the time** Roy.  I need to get him home so he can be with you again.  If we’re around everyone again I think this might get better and we….won’t have to anymore.”

          Roy wanted to wrap his arms around himself, but placed them on his knees instead.  He took in a few more breaths before giving a reply.  “I will **always** want Edward.  This is going to take me some time to work through, but there is nothing Edward could do that would make me want him out of my life.  And Alphonse…in case either of you was wondering, I have not been with anyone since the both of you left.”

          Roy briefly looked around his study and wondered why it looked so normal when an emotional bomb had just shattered him.  “I understand the alchemical theory of a soul always trying to connect with its body.  Logically I can work that out.  And I understand the desperation you both must have felt.  It just….I need a bit of time Alphonse.”

         “Time is something that won’t be a problem…I can only do this about once a month.  I’m really very sorry to have to have told you all this Roy, but Brother won’t help me with any of the research or brainstorming until he knows how you feel about this.  We’re both aware of what would happen if anyone else found out, but we couldn’t not tell you.  What would you like me to say to Brother?”

          Roy swallowed hard.  “Tell him I will always love him and we will find a way to work through this.  I don’t know what that way is right now, but we will find it.  Do you have enough strength to hear one of the letters now?”

          The helmet’s eyes seemed to glow for a moment.  “If it’s a very short one, yes.  Thank you.  Thank you so much for not rejecting him Roy.”

          Roy picked up his stack of letters and automatically grabbed the last one he’d written.  He had to clear his throat a couple of times before the words came out smoothly.  The letter was a short description of the small park he walked past every day.  It described how he wished Edward could see how the changing seasons were reflected and the little things he noticed about the park.  There was a bit about a bench Edward used to sit on to hand out bread to the ducks.  It ended with _You alone know how much I miss you.  Please decide to come home, Edward.  Amestris only glows when you’re in it._

          He finished reading and looked up at the helmet again.  “Thank you,” it whispered again before the light faded from the eyes.

          Roy lay down on his couch and looked into his fireplace.  In this moment he just hurt, but he would find a way to deal with this.  It hadn’t been done to hurt anyone and he wouldn’t hold it over either of their heads.  But oh…his insides clenched.  And Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, could swear it was raining inside his study.

**January 31, 1925, Paris**

          Alphonse had ordered a special cake for Ed ‘s birthday at the downstairs bakery.  He’d made sure to get home from his classes earlier than he usually would so he could make Ed a special dinner.  They hadn’t bothered really celebrating birthdays last year and he’d been hoping to tell Ed that he’d made contact with Roy, but that hadn’t happened yet.  He had made it through to Amestris on several different occasions and managed to almost give one old gentleman a heart attack, so he could tell Ed that at least.

          It was so strange to think that Ed was 20 years old now because that meant that Al **should** be almost 19, but his physical body was still 14.  It was all so frustrating at times because if he were his actual age they may never have had to deal with some of the things they were dealing with now.  And while Ed tried to keep it to himself Alphonse knew that he always wondered if Roy could ever accept it.  Alphonse personally thought that Ed probably felt like he was cheating on Roy by becoming involved with anyone, so he tried to be as sensitive as he could to Ed’s reactions.

          And Alphonse could readily admit to himself a sense of relief that he still found girls attractive.  He’d also gained an appreciation for the male form, but that was mostly because it was Ed.  His own body was still growing (although he never pointed out that he’d already grown taller than his brother) and had several years before it would be fully developed.  Often Alphonse would let his eyes travel over Ed’s body and wonder if his shoulders would become as broad, or if his musculature would be as pronounced.  Edward Elric had not lost his physique even though he’d given up on training once reaching this side of the Gate.

          Humming to himself, Alphonse let himself into the apartment and began to prepare Ed’s birthday dinner.  He’d decided to make several small meals since they didn’t celebrate either birthday last year and food never lasted long enough to go bad between the brothers.

          Two hours later when Ed got home Alphonse had prepared stew, steak and potatoes, lemon pepper chicken, candied carrots, and a tossed salad because he’d wanted the greens.  Ed walked into the kitchen and gaped at all the food.  Alphonse threw him a grin and then brought out the cake as well.

          Later once the food that hadn’t been eaten had been put away and Ed’s muscles had all been loosened with a massage, Alphonse whispered in his brother’s ear.  “I’m sorry I was hoping to tell you that I’d reached Roy for your birthday.  I haven’t gotten through to him yet, but I did get through to Amestris several times.  If I keep trying I’m sure to find him.”

          Ed tensed a bit as he always did at the mention of Roy.  “S’all right Al.  We don’t have to go back to Amestris.  We can make a life here and when you’re older you can have that wife and kids you want.  Just want you to be happy,” he was almost asleep and the words came out a bit slurred.

          Al hugged him from behind.  “And I want you to be happy.  I’m going to find him for you, Ed.”

          Because Ed was already asleep he didn’t see the look in Al’s eyes.  It was eerily similar to the look Ed used to get when he was focused on getting Alphonse’s body back.

**April 1925, Paris**

         Alphonse was finally physically 15 years old and had begun to see some changes in his form.  He would always be more willowy than Ed, but he was beginning to fill out some in his shoulders.  He’d talked Ed into running with him occasionally both to help build his muscles and maintain Ed’s.  Running almost always ended up with a shower since Ed had to run fully clothed with gloves on.  He was always soaked with sweat by the time they got home.  There had been several requests for Alphonse to join different sports at the University, but he’d refused all of them.  It never hurt to be too cautious and he wasn’t going to do anything that might make them have to run again.

          Other changes had been happening to Alphonse and while he had more control over his body at night than when his overloaded hormones had surfaced, he found himself having other problems now.  His body was craving more of a connection with Ed.  He’d not said anything directly because he keenly felt the line Ed constantly walked with their sexual encounters.  Alphonse did not want to trigger the guilt-complex Ed carried, and so he’d found another solution.

          One of the other students had mentioned getting something fun for his girlfriend.  Al casually enquired as to where the location of the shop was and so he now found himself standing inside a Parisian shop which catered to sexual escapades.  Costumes seemed to be in demand at the moment, but Al was able to find what he was looking for relatively easily.  The older gentleman who took his money looked flatly unimpressed, but threw in several condoms with his purchase.

          That evening Alphonse took his time in the bath tub and when he was ready to retire he went into the smaller bedroom.  Several minutes later Ed was standing outside the door with a confused look.  “What are you doing, Al?  I thought you were coming to bed…”

          Ed’s face went from confused to frowning.  Al was already getting himself ready for the evening and had the supplies he thought he’d need in the bed with him.  Conveniently under the sheets or so he thought until Ed walked over and pulled the sheets back in that one spot.

          Alphonse’s face flushed bright red while Ed simply stared at the dildo, jar of lubrication, and condoms.  “I…I…” Al could only stammer at the incredulous look Ed was giving him.

          Shaking his head as if to clear it Ed sat down on the edge of the bed.  “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but it would be really great if you could tell me.  And where the hell did you get all this?”

          Al gulped and tried to look anywhere other than where Ed was.  “One of the guys in a class was getting something for his girlfriend and I asked him where he went.  So I went there and got this…”

          Ed’s eyes were beginning to narrow.  “That explains where you got it, but not why.  What the fuck is going on Alphonse?”

          Al looked down miserably.  “I didn’t want to ask you.  Because I know you already feel like you’re cheating on Roy and…we do enough already.  So I was just going to try this and maybe that will be enough.  My stupid body wants more, but I don’t want you to feel guilty Ed.  So could you just let me try to handle this on my own?”

          Ed rubbed at his forehead absently.  His eyes were a bit wider than normal, but he met Al’s gaze head on.  “Are you trying to tell me that you got a dildo because you want penetrative sex, but didn’t want to say anything to me about it?”

          “Well yes.  Now if you could just close the door behind you…” Al’s voice trailed off as he watched Ed get up and walk a bit dazed toward the desk.  They’d ended up putting a desk back into the smaller room for Al to do some of his projects on.  He leaned on it and seemed to get hold of himself before turning back to Al.

          “Do you really think I’m going to be okay with you using a piece of wood the first time you have actual sex?  It should at the very least be something caring, Al.  Do you have any idea how I would have felt if I’d found out about this later?”  Ed’s voice was hoarse and his eyes were a bit wild as they met Alphonse’s, but he was perfectly serious.

          “But Ed.  I don’t want you to feel like you have to do this.  This hasn’t been easy on either of us, but I think it’s harder on you.”  Al’s fingers played nervously with the bedding he was sitting on. 

          Ed came back and sat on the bed.  He reached over and grasped Al’s hand and threaded his fingers through it.  And showing the endless patience he had for his younger brother waited until Alphonse met his gaze.

          “I’m not going to lie to you, Al.  Yeah, I was hoping this wasn’t going to become an issue, but now that it has…we’ll deal with it.  Together.  Now, come to bed.”

          Ed waited patiently as Alphonse gathered the supplies and then turned to the other bedroom.  In the bed they shared Ed took the lubrication and the condoms from Al, but set aside the dildo.  “Do me a favor Alphonse and tell me what you’re thinking next time.  None of this is easy, but we can get through it.”

          Al nodded wordlessly then lay down as Ed pushed on his chest.  Sleeping nude meant never having to wrestle with clothing at times like this.  For a few moments Ed simply lay down on top of Alphonse with his head on Al’s chest and breathed in his scent.  Al absently began to run his fingers through Ed’s hair and the tension left them both.  Ed’s auto-mail hand began to wander over Al’s arm, leg, and ass.  Ed’s head and torso came up to lean against his flesh arm as he simply touched Al. 

          He suspected it was because the sensations were in a way still new because he’d been the armor for so long, but Alphonse was almost cat like in the way he loved to be touched and stroked.  Ed had also learned that Al loved the idea of a mouth on his skin.  Even if all he did was blow and sometimes lick, Al couldn’t get enough of it.  While Al was distracted by the different touches Ed grabbed the jar. 

          He coated three of his fingers (a first as it had always been two before tonight) and slowly began to work Al’s anus open.  This type of sex play wasn’t new to them anymore, but Ed had genuinely hoped to never go beyond it.  He kept an eye on Alphonse as he began easing the third finger in.  If this was too much anything else was going to be out of the question. 

          Alphonse hadn’t been kidding when he said his body wanted more.  There was a bit of stretch, but overall the addition didn’t seem to bother Al.  In fact he was moving against Ed’s fingers more than he usually did.  Ed swallowed, but shook it off.  This was going to happen, then.

          Slowly he withdrew his fingers from Al and grabbed one of the condoms.  “If we don’t use these one of us could get an infection, and I can’t go to a doctor Al.”

          Edward took a deep breath and opened the package.  They’d never had to use condoms before.  Blow jobs and jerking off didn’t require condoms, so they’d never used them.  Edward made sure to put the condom on slowly as Alphonse was watching intently.  The younger Elric may yet need to put one on himself in the future.

          Once the condom was on Ed raised his eyes back to Al’s. “Hand me the lube.”  Al watched silently as Ed coated his condom covered erection with plenty of lubrication.  “Was there any particular way you wanted to do this?”

          Al shook his head no.  Ed bit his lip and frowned a bit.  “This might…sting a bit.  I don’t want to hurt you…”

          Alphonse remembered thinking the dildo wasn’t as wide as his brother and thought that was probably why Ed was worried about hurting him.  He sat up and pulled Ed’s legs out from under him so he was sitting with his legs crossed.  Ed’s eyes widened as he realized what Al was doing, but didn’t argue as Al lifted himself so he was sitting on Ed’s lap. 

          “This way you can’t say you hurt me,” Alphonse said quietly as he put his hand around Ed and lined himself up.  He put his head onto Ed’s shoulder and began to slowly shimmy himself onto Ed.

          Alphonse concentrated on breathing and relaxing as he moved slowly further down onto Ed.  Ed’s auto-mail hand was wearing a hole into the bedding while the other was on Al’s back.  He was trying very hard not to move, but Al felt his gasping breaths every time he moved further down.

          “Are you okay?” Al heard Ed gasp and he could only mumble a _hmmm_ against his shoulder because it was incredible.  He’d just met Ed’s hips and while there had been a pinching feeling, it hadn’t hurt.  It’d been weird at first but he felt stretched and so full, and in such a good way that words weren’t possible.

          Sighing into Ed’s shoulder he began to rock slowly and felt more than heard Ed’s groan.  Slowly he rocked and at some point Ed rocked back up into him.  It was quiet and neither of them really said anything, but there were gasps, moans, and shivers.  When Alphonse climaxed Ed gritted his teeth and came inside him. 

          After they’d cleaned up and were lying in bed again, Ed rolled over and met Al’s eyes.  “You might be sore in the morning.  There’s some painkillers in the bathroom if you need them.”

          Al nodded drowsily.  “Ed?  Can you hold me tonight?”

          Ed gave a small smile and nodded.  “Roll over.”

          Ed pressed himself against Al’s back and closed his eyes.  _Can we ever go home after this?  Will we ever have normal lives again?  I have to be what Al needs now, and I will.  I will always be whatever he needs, but oh Roy.  Sometimes it hurts so much to think of what you would say to me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually felt bad while writing this chapter cuz I hate seeing them hurt, but the story arc has to happen. If this continues the way I'm planning (it's been a very organic piece & has changed course on its own) it will have a happier ending.
> 
> Edited the whole thing. Changed some things up and added a couple of lines. Working out the next chapter...still gonna be some angst there. 
> 
> Would love some feedback on this. Please don't flame, but do point out any typos or concerns with where the story is going.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphonse confronts the Elric guilt-complex and Roy makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no idea that jumping all over the place in the timeline of this thing was going to be so hard to keep straight. Had to make myself an outline to keep up with time and place in each chapter. If anyone else is having trouble keeping the timeline intact I can add that outline to the end notes for this chapter.

          Al had become a bit of an expert in predicting when Ed’s guilt-complex was going to raise its head.  Each time their sex life had progressed Ed would wrestle with his guilt and mostly would find a way to wrestle it back into submission.  Going on two weeks since they’d had intercourse Ed’s guilt-complex had practically begun to need a bedroom of its own. 

          Al had noticed it almost immediately and didn’t want to poke and prod at it too early as that usually led to arguing.  He’d given Ed time to work through his guilt, but he felt like two weeks was long enough for him to break his silence.  Alphonse Elric was no stranger to the Elric guilt-complex – he had his own to deal with.  But while his older brother would sit and stew in his misery, Al had learned early on that the guilt didn’t accomplish anything.  He’d adopted the notion that letting guilt drive you led to unhappiness while learning and adapting from your mistakes led to better things.  Usually.  Their current situation didn’t really fit into his more optimistic view.

          That afternoon after they’d walked home from the University Alphonse volunteered to run down to the bakery and grab some sandwiches and stew.  Ed readily agreed as it meant no cooking for him that evening.  Al’s ulterior motive, of course, was that Ed always took uncomfortable conversations better with good food.

          He returned with the food and began to sort it out into dishes.  Once everything was ready he brought it over to the coffee table and set Ed’s in front of him first.  With a mumbled “Thanks Al,” Edward Elric proceeded to inhale the food.

          Al shot a small smile at Ed before sitting down with his own food.  Ed was making happy noises around his sandwich as Al carefully unwrapped his own sandwich.  _Time to poke the elephant in the room._

          “Brother, I need to talk to you about something.  I’ve noticed you’ve been very quiet lately and quite frankly you seem unhappy.  Did something happen?”

          Ed almost choked on the mouthful of food he was chewing on.  Al waited patiently for him to finish coughing and gulp some water down.  Warily Ed met Al’s gaze and swallowed at the intent he saw there.

          “You’re really going to bring this up, aren’t you?”

          Al locked his eyes on Ed’s.  “Brother none of this is your fault.  You’ve got to stop punishing yourself.”

          Which brought on the pre-requisite scowl and Ed’s response of “The fuck?  Of course it’s my fault!  I was the one who tied our souls together in the first place!  I was the one who tied you to that armor for years!”  
          Al was already shaking his head before Ed had finished his rant.  “No Ed.  We **both** made the decision to bring Mom back.  And if we hadn’t managed to tie our souls together by accident I don’t think you would have been able to bring me back at all.  You were able to save me because we were already connected.  Without that connection I don’t think you’d have been able to seal my soul to the armor.”

          Ed was staring at him with his mouth open.  “But all of what’s happening now…it’s definitely my fault!”

          Al tilted his head enquiringly.  “How do you figure?”  He proceeded to take another bite of his sandwich while Ed sputtered.

          “The hormone thing!  That’s definitely my fault cuz you wouldn’t be having this problem if you’d had a body the first time around”

          Al cut him off with “Ed you’re pulling at strings now.  We both made the decision to bring Mom back.  We both used our blood as a substitute for her soul.  If you hadn’t thought quickly enough to tie my soul to that armor I would have just been dead.  No first adolescence as armor and definitely no second adolescence in flesh.  The fact that we’re drawn to each other for sex now is not your fault.  It just happened.  And if you can’t let this go Brother I’m going to get very angry with you.”

          Ed was gaping at Al in disbelief as his younger brother set his food down.  He continued to sputter as Al got up and walked over to where he was sitting.  He finally shut up when Al sat down next to him and pulled him into a hug.  “It’s nobody’s fault, Ed.  Please stop blaming yourself.  If it bothers you this much I’ll just jerk off all night so you don’t have to touch me anymore.”

          Tentatively Ed’s arms came up to pull Al closer.  “No I don’t want that.  It’s just that…I don’t know how to be your brother and have sex with you, too.  It’s so confusing.  And I know you want to get us back to Amestris for lots of reasons, but Al…I don’t think this is going to go away once we get back.”

          Al sighed and nodded against Ed’s head.  “I know Brother.  I’ve felt the connection tightening.  We’re going to have to learn how to deal with all this, but you were the one who said we could do it together.  We can still do this together, can’t we?”

          Ed was silent for so long Al was actually afraid.  He finally answered “Yeah.  We’ll do it together.  I just don’t know how to go about it.”

          Al lifted his head and gave his brother’s forehead a kiss.  “We’ll just have to do what we both feel comfortable with and what we don’t feel okay with.  I don’t know if you won’t tell me, Ed,” he added quietly.

          Ed swallowed before meeting his gaze.  “You think I’m upset that we had real sex, don’t you.”

          “Well you’ve pretty much been acting like you were, so…yeah.”

          Ed closed his eyes and swallowed hard before he could look at Al again.  “I have been upset, but not for the reason you think.  I was upset because I really enjoyed it and I thought I would feel like I was cheating on Roy.  But…it didn’t feel wrong.  And that’s why I was upset.  Because it felt like it was something I’d been missing.”

          Al breathed out in a rush.  “Okay.  Okay well I think we should take it slow and not rush into anything else until we both feel ready for it.  It felt pretty much the same for me as it did for you, but I don’t want to put you through this every time we decide to try something new.”

          Ed was uncharacteristically quiet before answering softly “You still want to go back to Amestris no matter what, don’t you?”

          Al nodded with determination.  “No matter what else happens I can’t stand for you to have to hide here all the time.  And I won’t let you give up on Roy before I can contact him, Brother.  He deserves the chance to choose whether or not to be in our lives.”

          Ed looked away before answering “You really think things will work out, don’t you?”

          “Of course I do!  We’ve always managed to pull through – why would that be any different now?”

          Ed pulled his brother back into a hug.  “Love you, Al.”  They sat quietly on the couch for a bit before Al got up to go finish his food.

**June 1925, Paris**

          Alphonse was practically bursting by the time he reached the apartment.  He’d managed to contact Roy last night, but hadn’t woken Ed because of the nightmare about Nina.  That was a common nightmare for both of them and always ensured a restless night. 

          Al ran up the stairs and opened the door as quickly as he could.  As soon as he’d shut and locked it behind him he began yelling for Ed.  Who had just come out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and another working to dry his hair.  The sight of Ed without clothing never failed to affect Al now, and he swallowed before once again approaching Ed.

          Curious eyes peered at him from underneath the towel and Alphonse couldn’t help the small smile.  “I found him last night, Ed.”

          The golden eyes frowned at him now as Ed finished drying his hair.  “You found who, Al?”

          Al reached out and grasped at one of Ed’s hands so he’d quit messing with the towel.  “I found Roy.  No, I didn’t tell him any of what’s happened between us because I’d already spent too much time looking for him and was low on energy.  But I found him.  And I can find him again and then, Brother we will have an answer from him.”

          Ed’s eyes had gone huge as he finally understood what his sibling was saying.  He blinked a couple of times before narrowing his eyes at Al.  “Why do I think you’re going to make me help you research all this mythology and whatnot you’ve been looking into now?”

          Al grinned cheekily at his brother.  “Because you know me far too well.  I’ll go grab some food and we’ll hit the books later.”

          Ed stared somewhat moodily at the door once Al had passed through it on his way down to the bakery.  Knowing Al wouldn’t be persuaded to give this up until he heard from Roy what he was willing to accept, he turned to put on some pajama pants and a tee shirt.

**August 1925, Paris**

          Al woke up from his ‘visit’ with Roy.  He blinked a few times before attempting to move.  Once he felt centered and fully back in his body he turned to look at Ed.  Who was snoring with a bit of drool hanging off his lip.  Al snorted before moving to cuddle close to his sibling.

          He scooted down until his head was underneath Ed’s so he could nuzzle up against his brother’s neck.  Breathing out warm air against his neck, Al murmured Ed’s name softly.  Ed’s body moved into his before the former was fully awake. 

          “Al…wha?” was all Alphonse was able to understand from whatever it was that came out of Ed’s mouth.  He smiled and licked his way up toward Ed’s ear, which had Ed squirming up against him.

          “Roy still wants you.  He figured it out before I gave him all the information and he still wants you, Ed.  He loves you.”

          Ed stilled as his brain caught up with what was being said.  His hands came up to cup Al’s face and bring it even with his own.  “What about you?  Did he say anything at all about being able to deal with both of us?”

          Al frowned and looked away from his brother’s piercing gaze.  “Well no.  He’d only just found out and he was upset Brother.  He read me a letter he wrote to you…”

          Ed cut him off with a huff.  “Alphonse Elric, you need to let Roy know that if he still wants me in his life he has to have you in it as well.  You know very well we can’t live apart from each other anymore.  More than a couple of days away from me and you can barely function from the pain.  I can deal with it longer than you can, but we have to be honest with Roy.  After that project when you had to spend the weekend at the University children’s ward they wanted to hospitalize you because they couldn’t figure out why you were in so much pain.  I’m not going to take any chances with your health, Al.  If Roy can’t deal with both of us then we need to write him off.”

          Al looked solemnly into his brother’s eyes.  “You’ll never be able to write him off, Ed.  But you’re right I need to let him know we can’t tolerate physical distance anymore.”  Al ran a hand into Ed’s hair before saying somewhat sadly “I thought you’d be happy to hear the news.”

          Ed ran a hand over Al’s hip and Al’s eyes widened as the hand continued on down his thigh.  “It’s hard to be happy until I know he can accept us both.  You really want to tell me about that letter he wrote, don’t you?”

          Al was having trouble answering with Ed’s hand rubbing up his inner thigh, so he just nodded.  “Roll over then,”Ed said roughly.  He was already reaching for the jar when Al rolled to place his back to Ed’s front. 

          “Leg up,” Ed breathed into Al’s ear as his fingers reached for his brother’s anus.  Al whispered the conversation he’d had with Roy while Ed fingered him open.  He whimpered when Ed moved away long enough to put on a condom and more lube. 

          “Shh,” Ed whispered as he moved back up behind Al.  “You know I’d never leave you like that.”

          Al pulled his leg up further so Ed could find the best angle.  They both sighed once Ed was lined up pressing against him.  Al subtly moved his hips wider as Ed began to guide himself in.  Al sighed as the head popped in then moaned as Ed slowly worked his way in and soon they were moving against each other.

          It had taken some trial and error before they’d found positions they were both comfortable with.  Al loved to be taken from behind, but Ed wasn’t comfortable with him in the doggy style position.  Al wasn’t quite brave enough yet to top, but he loved having some control over the movements and Ed loved looking at Al on top of him.  It was all about listening to each other’s bodies and movements, and stopping immediately if one or the other looked uncomfortable.  And although it had never been brought up, by tacit agreement they had agreed that kissing bodies was fine, but kissing mouth to mouth was just too much.  For Ed it was the one thing he had left that was just between him and Roy.  And for Al, it was enough to know that his brother loved him, accepted him just the way he was, and only wanted them both to be happy.

          Ed mouthed kisses against the back of Al’s neck as he moved inside him.  He loved that Al enjoyed being taken from behind so much and that in this position he could move slowly and not overpower his younger brother.  While Al was the taller brother, Ed was definitely the more muscular of the two.

          Ed grabbed Al’s hand with his auto-mail hand and began moving Al’s hand over his own cock.  He’d never touched Al intimately with the auto-mail in fear of hurting him, but Al liked the idea of Ed’s auto-mail touching him while he touched himself.  Compromise was a beautiful thing.

          “Both of us, Al.  We’re a package deal now,” Ed gasped into his brother’s neck.  Al pressed back into him and made that noise he always made right before he came.  Ed rocked into Al to help his orgasm along and finished while Al’s ass muscles were still squeezing him.

          Once they both had their breath back Al rolled over to reset the alarm clock.    _Leave it to Brother to make us have to get up earlier because we need to get clean.  His protective side comes out at the strangest times, but I never mind losing a bit of sleep._

**Central, Amestris**

**September, 1919**

          In the month since Roy had discovered the man he loved was having a sexual relationship with his sibling things had been prioritized in his mind.  He’d gathered any and all books he could find on the alchemical theory of human transmutation and souls.  He’d gone for long walks and actually made himself think of living the rest of his life without Edward Elric in it.  He’d contemplated what life would be like with both Edward and Alphonse as staples in his life.  He’d even pondered if he could stand living in a home with the both of them knowing they were sexually intimate.

          By the time Alphonse was able to reach out to him again Roy Mustang had made some decisions.  And it was high time he let the Elric brothers know what those were.

          Roy was slowly sipping on some of his highest quality whiskey when the helmet’s eyes glowed red.  He’d been able to narrow down the visit based on the last times Alphonse had appeared and was satisfied to see the appearance within the window he’d made.

          Alphonse’s voice was perhaps a bit more hesitant than the last time.  “Good evening Roy.”

          Roy took one last sip of his drink before setting it down and turning to address the helmet.  “And to you, Alphonse.  I have some things that you and Edward need to hear before you attempt to travel through the portal.”

          “I rather thought you might.  We’ve got a few things to tell you, but please – tell me what you think now that you’ve had some time to work it out.”

          “I’m willing to have the both of you live with me for however long you both need.  There would be one bedroom for you and we would let it be known that Edward and I were in a relationship, so we would share the other bedroom.  The particulars of the three of us living together would have to be worked out in time, but it’s my hope we could come to some sort of arrangement that suits all of us.”  Roy glanced down for a moment before meeting Alphonse’s glowing red eyes.  “I tried to imagine what my life would be like without the two of you in it and all I could see was the North again.  When Edward and I were together before it was always with the understanding that you and he would always be in each other’s lives.  Hell, there were times Edward felt like he had to choose between spending time with me versus you, Alphonse.  So it’s only the dynamic that’s changed now.  And I’m willing to work with both of you as long as you’re willing to work with me.”

          Alphonse was silent for several moments after Roy’s statement.  When he spoke again it sounded as if the armor was trying to choke back tears.  “We have always been lucky to have you in our lives, Roy.  But I don’t think I ever quite understood just how lucky until now.  Okay, here’s what you need to know from our end.  First, we’ve recently discovered that we can’t be physically separated for more than 36 hours without it becoming extremely painful for me.  Ed can handle it for longer than I can, but it almost felt like my body was trying to shut down the last time it happened.  He’s insisting you know this up front, but it doesn’t sound like an issue based on what you said.  It’s the physical proximity that’s the issue there, not a sexual issue.”

          Roy nodded his head as this corresponded with the very little he’d been able to find in his alchemical research.  “No we can work around that.  What else do I need to know?”

          “We’ve located a set of Neolithic stones in France that we can reach in two days time by train.  This is the closest set of stones that may provide a portal back to Amestris, so we’re focusing on them.  There is an old festival that takes place the last day of October in this world when the veil between the worlds is said to diminish.  We’re still not sure what that means exactly, but it sounds like the best time to try and reach Amestris.  The mythology of this world attributes the festival to a goddess of war and death as this is also the time when the dead may be able to cross over.  It only happens on one night and the magic is supposed to be concentrated at midnight.  So that’s what we’re looking into.  I’ve never heard of this goddess, but it’s our best lead so we’re going with it.”

          “It must be incredibly frustrating for you and Edward that alchemy isn’t an option.”  Roy ran his hands over his eye & eye-patch as his body began to feel the effects of the stress waiting for the visit had caused.

          “Yes it is.  But in Amestris many people thought alchemy was magic, so we’re hoping that maybe in using this world’s magic we can open the portal on our end.  Ed’s thinking we may not have to pay a toll if we use the natural magical energy occurring during the festival.  I was finally able to get him to start brainstorming after last time.”

          Roy gave a tired look toward the helmet.  “Very happy to have encouraged Edward to help.  He can be entirely too stubborn for his own good.”

          Alphonse snorted.  “I think once we are all able to get past the awkwardness of living together it’s going to prove a very good thing.  You’re the only other person who Brother will listen to when he’s in a mood.  I’m running low on energy, so I need to get back.  Shall we plan on having one last talk before we attempt the portal?”

          “Absolutely.  Take care of yourself and your brother, Alphonse.  I will do everything I can on my end to help the both of you adjust to life in Amestris again.  We will just have to be very careful.”

          “Roy you of all people should know how well Brother and I can keep secrets.  Please get some rest you look as if you need it.”

          The glow faded from the eyes and Roy let out the breath he’d been holding.  _It isn’t going to be easy, but we can do this.  They just have to get back here first.  And I should really start looking into which transfers are available because we can’t stay in Central.  We need to be somewhere the attention is focused on something other than the military.  Perhaps I should look into positions near Universities._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on the last chapter right now. It's a beast - already as long as the longest chapter & I've still got Al's last chat with Roy & the whole plot on how the boys actually get from Paris to Amestris still to go. Thanks so much for hanging in there and all the wonderful kudos. This was a story I really wrote just to get it out of my head (wouldn't let me concentrate on other things), but surprisingly enough I've been very happy with the way it's turned out. I hope the last chapter will due it justice!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward comes to terms with how things are now and Alphonse has his own version of the Elric guilt complex. (The Elric guilt complex could really be a character all on its own -_-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After getting only 1/3 of the next bit done and realizing the last chapter was going to end up being almost 12K by itself, I decided to just change the format to nine chapters. (Thanks a lot, story that just won't leave me alone.) Hope you guys enjoy!

**Central, Amestris**

**September 20, 1919**

          Roy had been covertly looking into available transfers.  Or so he thought until Hawkeye let herself into his office with information on those available transfers in her hand and a scowl on her face.  For a moment Roy blinked at her while wondering furiously how he should play this.

          Hawkeye raised eyebrows at him before placing the paperwork on his desk.  “Should I be readying the staff for a move, sir?”

          And Roy realized that he couldn’t ask them to follow him into this.  His bid for the Fuhrership was long over and the deliberate decision he had come to could not overflow onto his loyal staff.  Roy placed his elbows on the desk while bringing his hands up to artfully cover half his face.  And silently apologized to Hawkeye before speaking.

          “Major don’t you think it’s time you pursued your own command?  The original plan for the Fuhrership has been finished for some time now.  I would hate to see you follow me into an early retirement.”

          Hawkeye frowned openly at him.  “I don’t understand, sir.  I would happily serve under you for the remainder of my career.”

          Roy gave a half-smile from behind his hands.  “I know you would, Major.  But if you were to look into a transfer for a command where you could gain some rank and experience, it wouldn’t be long before you’d be offered a command of your own.  And we both know my command has only operated as well as it has because you run the office, Major.”

          Riza was looking confused as he continued to push this.  “But sir, we all…”

          “Yes I know.  But I’m thinking of taking a transfer into a smaller military area to ease into my eventual retirement.  And I think every single member of my staff should look into going with you, Major.  They all deserve to move up in the ranks and it won’t happen if they follow me further.  Please inform the staff that I will be leaving Central soon and I don’t expect any of them to come with me.”

          Riza gazed at him with hurt eyes.  Roy gazed calmly back at her.  _She can never know.  None of them can, it has to be this way.  None of them will be able to accept what the Elrics’ relationship is now.  And if we are discovered at some point, this way I am the only person who could be prosecuted._

          “Yes sir, I’ll tell the office staff.  But I don’t agree with this.”

          “I know you don’t, Major.  But my career is ending and you still have so much ahead of you.  I expect you to do great things with your command.”

          Hawkeye lowered and head.  “Yes sir.”  And slowly turned to walk out of Roy’s office.  “I will of course be training someone to manage your office, sir.”

          “Of course you will.  Thank you, Major Hawkeye.”

          “You’re welcome, General Mustang.”

**Paris, September 1925**

          Ed didn’t know when things had changed so blatantly in his own mind.  When the sex had started with Al he’d done his best to keep it loving, because he always wanted Al to feel loved.  But he hadn’t wanted it to feel like they were in a relationship.  He’d never kissed Al and had held out as long as possible on initiating anything that involved penetrative sex.  But.  It seemed things had gotten very confused inside his head since the sex had become more.  He was dreaming about both Roy and Al now.  And he didn’t know what the fuck to do about it. 

          Sex with Alphonse was amazing for so many reasons.  His little brother was wonderfully sensual and loved touching and being touched.  And he never held back.  Sex with Alphonse was the most natural thing in the world, and therefore confusing as all hell. 

          Before Al’s hormones had kicked in Ed had known he would do anything for Al.  He loved him with a passion bordering on obsession.  Add the sex to that and what he felt for his younger brother was eerily similar to the feelings he had for Roy. 

          Unquestioningly Ed knew he was willing to die, bleed, do **whatever** was necessary for either of them if it came to that.  He’d already placed himself on another world to bring Al’s body back.  And he knew that if there had been any way to save Roy from the wound that took his eye, he’d have done that, too.  What he’d never expected and was uneasily beginning to ponder was how he was going to be able to live with both of them feeling like this.  He knew just how devious Roy Mustang could be and had no doubt that the older man would find a way to make it seem normal on the outside.  He knew Alphonse was willing to do anything to keep his brother happy and both of them healthy.  But Ed didn’t know if he was going to be able to love them both in the way they deserved and he was terrified one of them would end up getting hurt.  Because fucking up was something Edward Elric was very good at.

          And so, even though he was actively participating in the research and planning for the portal through to Amestris, Ed was still second guessing that decision.  Until the day he came home to the apartment and Alphonse was sick.

          It was close to the end of September and they were making some final adjustments to their plan for the portal.  Alphonse had been staying later at the University to double and triple check some of the mythological connections, and he came home one particularly nasty evening with a cough.

          Edward was concerned, but Alphonse brushed it off.  Until a couple of evenings later when Ed came home and Al was wheezing on the couch barely able to stand on his own.  Ed immediately panicked and bundled Al into as many layers as possible before escorting him to the University’s hospital.  Where he saw firsthand just how easily one of them could die from a basic illness on this side of the Gate.

          The official diagnosis was bronchitis, but Ed was appalled to notice not all of the attending medical staff was washing their hands between patients.  He stationed himself at the entrance to Al’s room and insisted on seeing anyone who wanted to touch his brother wash their hands first.  This was such a basic rule of medicine in his world where auto-mail surgery could kill a person if the instruments weren’t clean enough.

          And of course there was always the issue of Ed having to hide his auto-mail from all of the medical staff.  It was the hardest thing that he’d dealt with in years, and made it absolutely clear that if both of them were to have a chance at long and healthy lives they **had** to get back to Amestris.

          The University had been very understanding of his brother’s illness and had given him time off from his courses until Alphonse was able to leave the hospital.  Ed was so very relieved to get Al back into their apartment it was a shock to realize they were now in October.  It was still early October, but they had to have their plan finalized by the end of the month or they’d have to wait another year to try for Amestris.

          During the next week while Alphonse slowly recovered and Edward babied him to the point of Al whacking him upside the head, Ed poured himself into the mythology Alphonse had been tackling.  The more he read, the more he thought they had a real chance of getting home.  And if it meant Al’s health, Ed was willing to face his uncertainties about a life with Roy and Alphonse in it as they were now.  The shock of Alphonse taking ill so quickly had prioritized things in Ed’s mind.  Before the fear and uncertainty of what might happen were his biggest concerns.  Now the knowledge of Al possibly dying on this side of the Gate had him completely focused on getting them home and dealing with any consequences later.

          Al was still on orders to stay in the apartment when Ed went back to work.  It was now October 6 and while Al was mobile he still tired quickly.  Ed thought ironically that while Al’s hormonal issues seemed to have gone dormant during the sickness he’d rather deal with a horny Al than watch his younger sibling suffer.  And if he were honest with himself he’d missed the more intimate parts of their new relationship.  Having Al back home and able to sleep in the bed with him again was bliss.

          Ed woke in the night with a familiar feeling against his lower back.  It was the first time since he’d found Al all but collapsed on the couch that his brother’s body had been interested in anything but healing.  He rolled over to see if Alphonse was awake and found a pair of barely open eyes meeting his. 

          “I don’t really need to, we can just go back to sleep.” Al spoke so softly Ed had to strain to hear him.

          “It’s still a bit early to try anything too physical, why don’t you let me take care of you, Al?”  Alphonse frowned in confusion as Edward gave him a small kiss on the forehead.  “Roll over, okay?”

          Al rolled so his back was facing Ed’s front.  Ed took Al’s hand in his auto-mail and began to slowly tug and squeeze Al’s hand on Al’s erection.  Al’s breathing changed almost immediately.  He whined and Ed breathed just behind his ear “More?” 

          Al nodded wordlessly and Ed moved their hands faster, holding Al’s hand just a bit tighter with the auto-mail so Al would tighten his hold against his flesh.  Ed closed his eyes and listened to the pleasured noises Al made as together they brought him off. 

          “Brother don’t you…” Al began but Ed cut him off with a kiss placed against the back of his shoulder.  “I’m fine, Al.  Is it okay if I hold you tonight?”

          Al hummed a pleased ‘yes’ and barely stayed awake long enough for Ed to clean them up.  Ed sighed into the back of his brother’s neck and relaxed.  _Finally starting to feel normal.  Still didn’t feel normal after he got back from the hospital.  But now, it’s good.  It’s normal again.  I guess sex is the new normal for us._

**Paris, October 10, 1925**

          Alphonse was almost back to his normal strength and Ed found himself relaxing as **finally** he could quit worrying about a relapse.  Al had cooked tonight and Ed made a big deal out of complementing all the food.  Al rolled his eyes a bit, but took it all good-naturedly. 

          “The doctor said I could go back to classes tomorrow, Ed.  Even though we’re leaving at the end of the month I think we should keep everything looking as normal as we can, so I’ll be going.  We **are** still on the same page about going home, right?”

          Ed finished the bit of roll he’d been chewing on.  “Yeah we’re going home.  I’m still nervous about it, even after the last time you talked to Roy, but we can’t stay here.  I can’t take the chance something could happen to you because the medical field here is behind Amestris’.”

          Al directed a slightly sour look at his older sibling.  “So because you’re worried about my health it’s okay, but the entire time I was worried about your auto-mail getting discovered again you brushed it off.  That’s not exactly fair, Brother.  And I don’t know why you’re so nervous about Roy.  The two of you will be fine.  Everything will even itself out once we’re home.”

          Ed frowned slightly as he realized Al may have no idea what had been making him so nervous about returning to Amestris.  And because the balance of their new relationship was so delicate (he’d finally had to admit to himself that they **did** have the sort of relationship he’d been trying so hard not to get into with his brother) Ed didn’t just blurt out what he was thinking.

          _I wish I could tell you, Al.  But I don’t know if this thing is the same for you.  And if it isn’t I don’t want you to feel bad – I never want you to feel bad about wanting your own life.  But I guess I can ask about one thing…_

          “Have you thought at all about how you want things to be when we get back?  I mean we have what we have here, but what do you want it to look like after we’re there?”

          Alphonse frowned.  “I don’t want to be a burden, Brother.  You and Roy need to work things out.  I am **not** going to get between the two of you.  It may make things complicated, but there are other ways to deal with my overactive hormones.  Maybe I can find a doctor to help me regulate them so they’re more controllable.”

          Ed swallowed hard.  He cleared his throat because the first time he’d tried to say anything back to that his voice refused to work.  “You aren’t going on hormone therapy Alphonse.  It’s…we don’t know what it might **do** to you.  Roy understood what he was getting himself into when he agreed to let both of us live with him knowing what our situation here is.  I don’t know yet what we’re gonna work out, but you are not gonna get in the way of me and Roy.  You could **never** get in the way.  He knows what you mean to me…”

          Edward had to break off and look away from his sibling, who was giving him a strange look.  His breathing had changed to almost panicked and he felt like he needed to get away.  Ed ran hand into his hair and pushed away from the table.  “The food was great, Al.  I need a shower.”

          Alphonse let Edward retreat to the bathroom.  He felt slightly stunned as he sat there and thought about Ed’s face while he was talking about Roy dealing with the two of them.  And realized Ed saw them as he and Roy and he and Alphonse.  As if he was involved with both of them.  _As if his feelings have become just as confused as mine._

          Still trying to process all this, Al began to clean up the meal.  _There must be a reason Brother isn’t talking to me about this.  He keeps saying what we have here, but he won’t say what that **is.** Why would he just leave it like that?_  And Alphonse remembered when they had touched themselves by accident the first time and how he’s said he wanted a wife and kids.  _Are we not talking about this because Brother doesn’t want to take that away from me?  Things are different now than they were then.  I don’t even know if I can have enough of a normal life to entertain dating, let alone have children.  How can I talk to him about this?_

          When the idea hit him Alphonse was mostly finished cleaning up.  A very small determined smile came over his face as he remembered something about Edward and stress.  Making way out of the kitchen Al called toward their bedroom “Brother would you like a massage tonight?”

* * *

 

          Al smiled fondly at his brother as his finished up the massage.  Ed’s skin was tinged slightly with color and the almond oil Al had rubbed into all of his brother’s aching muscles.  Ed would plow through stressful situations, but his body inevitably would tense up during and after such times.  _And now Brother is relaxed and will talk to me about this thing that’s happened with us.  Roy isn’t the only one who knows how to get you to talk, Edward._

          Alphonse moved himself slightly backward so that he was sitting just where Ed’s waist joined his buttocks.  Al was careful to sit so that Ed wouldn’t feel his body’s interest in the wonderfully warm and relaxed body underneath him.  _Later_ Alphonse thought at himself. 

          He lightly placed his hands on Ed’s mid-back and rubbed a bit more at some stubborn muscles.  “Ed, can I ask you something?”  He made sure his voice was soft to help keep Ed in the warm and hazy state he was in.

          “Yeah Al, you can ask me anything,” was the mumbled response.

          Thinking carefully Al quietly asked “Why do you say what we have here instead of just saying we’re having sex now?”

          Ed’s voice was losing that sleepy quality, but he was still relaxed, and Al kept slowly massaging anything on his back that gained tension.  “Because I didn’t know how else to say it.  I told you it confuses me – the having sex.  It’s not the society thing cuz we’re not really part of this society we’re just drifting in it.  I didn’t know any other way to say it because the only other person I’ve had sex with I was involved with.”

          Al thought about that.  And realized with a bit of a start that Ed had used past tense.  “You said you didn’t know how else to say it.  Has something changed?”

          Alphonse felt the breath Edward took.  It was deep and went through his upper chest and into his stomach before Ed let it back out.  Al was momentarily afraid he’d pushed too hard, but Ed finally answered.

          “When you got sick it was like part of me realized I was just over thinking it.  The sex…it’s just part of who we are right now.  It’s part of loving you, it’s just something that we can’t share with anyone else.  Except Roy.  And we had to give him that choice because it wouldn’t have been fair not to.  And I don’t know what’ll happen with the three of us once we get home, but I’m gonna find a way to make it work.  I’m gonna be with Roy and I’m gonna be what you need and that’s it.  I’ll always be there until you don’t need me anymore, Al.”

          Alphonse felt the pressure of tears starting and took a few quick breaths to keep them in.  If he started crying now this discussion was over and he needed this not to be over yet.  He got off Ed’s back and lay down on the bed next to him so they could see each other’s faces.  Then he lifted a hand to cup Ed’s cheek.  “Ed I will always need you.  I hope that the sex becomes something we choose instead of something you feel like you have to do, and I hope that we both make the choices we want to make.  But I will never not need you in my life.”

          Ed frowned.  “I don’t feel like I have to fuck you Al.  It was awkward in the beginning, but I’ve never felt forced.  I’ve always tried to…shit I only ever wanted it to be good for you.  No one should have to feel like they need to seek out strangers for sex, and…dammit did you feel like you were forcing me?”

          Al was having a harder time with the tears now, but he kept fighting them off.  “Well wasn’t I?  That first time was hard on you, I know it was.  And I don’t ever want it to be like that again, Brother.  I love you, I want you to be happy, and…”

          Something in Ed’s head just had it.  He lifted both hands to hold Al’s head so he couldn’t look away from his eyes.  “I have always loved the sex with you Al.  That’s what bothered me.  You **never** forced me.  The problem was that I just loved it too damn much and didn’t understand how I could when I loved Roy.  And I finally got it when you were in the hospital.  I love you both.  It doesn’t matter if it’s right or wrong.  But I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay with us.  Once you’re older and you have a handle on the hormones I want you to do what you’ve always wanted.  Don’t let my feelings change what you need to do with your life.”

          Alphonse closed his eyes for a moment and breathed.  Ed brushed the hair back off his face tenderly.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for all that to come out, but you can’t really have thought you forced me?”

          Al blinked teary eyes and gave a ghost of a smile.  “Of course I did Ed.  I’ve always known how you felt about Roy and when my body needed the sex…I did feel like it was my fault.  And that I was making you.  And Ed, I don’t really have plans for the future.  I just want us both to be happy.  That’s all I want.”

          Ed moved one hand to Al’s shoulder and leaned close to rub his nose against Al’s.  He breathed into his brother’s cheek “Then let’s just be happy while we’re here and we’ll worry about Amestris once we get there, k?”

          Al didn’t say a word but nodded and pulled Ed closer for a tight hug.  They lay like that for a bit, then Ed pulled back to give him a wicked grin.  “How would you feel about giving your older brother a break tonight and doing the topping for him?”

          Al blinked at the topic change before his own grin came out.  “You really do enjoy the sex, don’t you?”

          “Yes I do.  And I don’t want to be the only one on top.  What do you think?  If you don’t wanna then you can always ride me – I love having you on top.”

          Al’s grin was turning predatory and Ed found himself getting more than a little turned on.  “Why don’t you tell me what you have in mind, big brother?”  Al’s tongue came out and licked up the shell of Ed’s ear.  Ed shivered then told Al what he’d been thinking about.  “Yes, I think we can definitely try that.  It sounds just like what we both need tonight.”

          Alphonse was no novice at fingering – Edward loved the combination of getting blown and fingered.  But he’d never done it with the intention of placing his own cock in Ed’s ass.  So he was a bit nervous, but looking up at Ed’s relaxed body and warm loving eyes made it so much easier.

          Once Ed nodded that he was ready Al put a condom on for the first time.  Ed watched and made sure he’d pulled the tip out a bit to catch the semen and that Al had pulled it up as far as it would go so the condom slipping off wasn’t an issue.  Then he’d rolled back over so his stomach was on the bed and his head turned on the pillow.  Ed wrapped his arms around the pillow and spread his legs for Al.  “Nice and easy,” he breathed softly.

          Alphonse swallowed before grasping his own cock.  He placed more lube on it before gripping firmly and moving between Edward’s spread legs.  Slowly, as carefully as he could while also being as excited as humanly possible, Al pressed against Ed’s opening.  He gasped as the head of his cock pushed in and very slowly began rocking his hips in. 

          It felt like nothing he’d ever experienced before.  Ed’s body was wet from lube, warm and inviting, and stretched tight around him.  “Tell me,” he heard Ed say quietly.  And knew instinctively what his brother wanted to hear.

          “It’s warm and tight, fucking amazing and I can’t believe I kept putting this off.  Does it feel like this when you’re inside me?”

          “Every single time.” Ed breathed out.  Once Al was all the way in he lay full out on top of his brother and placed his hands under Ed’s shoulders just as he’d asked for.  Edward had wanted this to be slow and special, and in this position Alphonse could take his time and not wear himself out.

          Al began to slowly rock his hips.  He slowly moved in and out of Ed, all the while breathing kisses into the back of his neck.  Normally it was Alphonse whimpering, but tonight Al had his brother whining underneath him.  It was a very different feeling and Al made sure not to go too fast so it was good for both of them.  Being the one giving than receiving was a new feeling and made him hyper aware of Ed beneath him, moving his own ass back against Al’s rocking hips.

          Al heard Ed’s voice, low and panting underneath him.  “Fuck, Al I’m gonna…” Well.  Alphonse now knew why Edward almost always finished right after he did.  Because when Ed’s ass started squeezing around his cock Al was done.  Once his breath was somewhat resembling normal, Al pulled out and rolled to his side to face Ed.  Who had the most blissed out look on his face in the aftermath.

          “You really should have said earlier if you’d wanted me to do that so much,” he quietly told his older brother.  Gold eyes blinked open at him before the slightly breathless reply came.  “Al I’ve been hiding for months inside my own head.  Couldn’t ask for what I didn’t know I wanted.”

          They watched each other in the new knowledge they’d gained this night.  Nothing was certain, but they were both going to do what they could to make the other happy.  It was all they could hope for, in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did attempt to research hospital conditions in Paris for the year 1925. The most I was able to find in a google search was there were some hospitals infested with rats that year. I dunno how historically accurate the hand-washing thing is, but it worked for the story arc.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Al visits Roy for the last time before they attempt the portal. Ed handles the financials so the brothers can leave Paris.

**Central, Amestris**

**October, 15 1919**

          Roy had narrowed his transfer options down to two.  Both were near very respectable universities with specialties in alchemy.  He was going to let the brothers choose which location they’d rather be at.  Edward would more than likely look for a teaching position while Alphonse would be pursuing an educational degree of some sort.  Roy had enquired enough to know the alchemical teaching positions came with a lab for the professor as well.

          It was evening and Roy was hoping Alphonse would visit tonight.  Overall he couldn’t help his growing excitement at the thought of seeing both of them in the flesh again.  Alphonse must have grown some since he’d last seen him.  While they were all going to be coping with a rather awkward situation, it was his hope that between the three of them they would find a way to make it work to everyone’s benefit.

          Happily, the helmet gained its glowing presence and Roy had the company he’d hoped for.  They briefly discussed the date of arrival, compared today’s dates (Amestris was one day slower than Paris, so they’d have to account for that), and Roy spoke of his plans to seek a position near a university of their choice.

          Alphonse wasn’t quite sure what to make of Roy’s decision to leave his command.  “But Roy, you’ve put so much work into that.”

          “Yes, but my priorities have changed Alphonse.  I’ve known for some time that the Fuhrership wasn’t something I wanted anymore.  Having a peaceful life with you and Edward is my priority now.  And I can still serve my country for several years before considering retirement.”

          Alphonse thought about that.  “I guess.  Brother and I were talking about how things have changed, too.  Since we have to have the physical proximity now I suppose we’ll always be roommates of a sort.  But Roy, I don’t want to get between you and Brother.  I talked to him about it, too, but he said you knew what to expect.  I guess the problem is **I** don’t know what to expect.”

          Roy scratched his head as he thought about how to respond to that.  “Alphonse I told you before that even though you were never with us, you were always a part of the time Edward and I spent together.  I’m not entirely sure how we’re going to work it out right now, either, but neither of us will ever ask you to do something you’re uncomfortable with.  Edward loves both of us, but he has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen in one person.  As long as we’re all talking it will work itself out.”

          “What do you mean?  Brother loves you, but he doesn’t love me like that.”

          Roy reminded himself that Alphonse had never dated or flirted before.  Gently he pointed out “Alphonse you can’t possibly believe that Edward doesn’t love you in a new way now.  Your relationship was so close before the two of you became intimate there’s no way it couldn’t have grown.”

          Alphonse said nothing at first.  “But Brother is in love with you.  I know he loves me, and I love him.  But.  Are we allowed to feel more than that for each other?”      

          Roy realized this was something they probably hadn’t talked about.  Edward was never one to really self-reflect unless his guilt complex raised its head.  And Alphonse had nothing to base this on.  Of course he’d be confused.  Carefully Roy said “I don’t think there’s really a precedent for this Alphonse.  If the two of you love each other the way I love Edward then you just do.  People can fall out of love with someone, but they can’t just change their feelings because they want to.  And I would never hold it over either of your heads.  This is something neither of you could have predicted nor prepared for.”

          Meekly Alphonse asked “Do you really think we can find a way for all of us to be happy together?”

          Roy pursed his lips and inhaled before answering that one.  “I think we’re all going to have to work at it, and there may be times when it’s really difficult.  But yes, if we’re all willing I think we can make it work.  And finding happiness is a wonderful goal to strive for.  I’ll do all I can and try to give the two of you as much privacy as possible if you can do the same for Edward and I.”

          “All I want is for all of us to be safe and happy, Roy.  I really hope that once I’m older and have more hormonal control I can step back out of your lives a bit.  I don’t want to intrude.”

          “Alphonse you could never intrude.  You are an intrinsic part of your brother’s life.  I’ve always known that and would never expect it to change.  My hope is that you too, will find some happiness in all of this.”

          The helmet seemed to steady itself.  “Well, I guess the next time we speak we’ll be on your side of the Gate.  It would mean a lot to Brother and me if you could be there when we come through Roy.”

          Roy gave him a toothy grin.  “As if anyone could keep me away.  I will have to inform the staff just in case there are any medical issues to deal with.  Alphonse please be safe.  If anything happened to you or Edward I don’t know what I’d do.”

          “We’ll be as safe as we can be.  Brother is just as determined to get me back to Amestris as I am to get him back.  And I can’t wait to see Havoc and Hawkeye and the others.  Until then, Roy.”

          The glow faded from the helmet and Roy thoughtfully rubbed his lip.  _Sixteen days give or take.  I wonder what Hawkeye will think of my transfer request now._

**Paris, October 26, 1925**

Monday evening of their last week in Paris and Edward was tired.  He’d requested a personal week from the University and they’d granted it as he’d never taken a single personal day since he’d begun.  Ed had spent the bulk of the day at the bank and then in a lawyer’s office.  He’d withdrawn the money they needed for their train tickets and motel room from the bank and from there had grabbed some food before heading to the lawyer’s office. 

          The rest of the money he had in savings he was arranging to be delivered to Nancy on November 30 provided they had made it through to Amestris.  The lawyer had drawn up papers to legalize the whole deal, but as long as Edward never graced this doorway again Nancy was going to find herself much better off in a little over a month.  She had, after all, shown them kindness when she needn’t have.  Nancy had also warned them of the best way to escape quickly if necessary.  Edward and Alphonse would have no more use for the funds and he was happy to help someone who could definitely use it.

          He and Al had agreed today was the last day Al would attend classes.  They had tonight and two more days to mentally and emotionally prepare themselves for their journey, and they both wanted that time to themselves. 

          Alphonse had purchased food from the bakery and was waiting on the couch for Edward.  As Ed pushed the door shut behind him he shot Al a weary grin.  “It’s all arranged.  Provided we never enter Paris again Nancy will get all the money I had in savings.”

          Alphonse gave his brother a pleased look.  “Good.  I know you really wanted to leave the rest of it to her.  Now come over here and eat – you look exhausted Ed.”

          Edward took off his coat and draped it across the back of the couch before plopping down next to Alphonse.  He ate his meal as Al continued going over one of the many mythology tomes they were basing this entire trip on.  “The words aren’t going to be any different, Al.”

          “I just want to make sure I’m not missing anything Brother.  If we don’t get this right we’ll be here at least another year and I’m ready to be home.”

          Ed finished wolfing his food down (he never really had learned to eat slowly) and pressed reassuringly on Al’s knee.  “I know.  I’m ready to go home, too.  But we’ve got it all read and re-read, Al.  You should take a break.” 

          He stood and stretched then casually leaned down to kiss Al’s cheek.  Which was what they normally did, except Al had been turning to ask a question and the kiss ended on the corner of his mouth.

          Al froze as Ed realized where his lips had landed.  Bent over was beginning to feel awkward, but Edward didn’t move.  He’d felt the instant tension and wanted to know what was going on.

          Moving his head back just a bit Ed gazed at Al’s startled face.  And watched his younger brother’s lips part as his tongue came out to wet them.  “Al?” He questioned softly.

          Alphonse cleared his throat and slightly shook his head.  “It’s nothing.  You’re right I need to take a break.”  Al went to lean forward to put the book on the nearby coffee table, but couldn’t without moving away from Ed.

          Who had narrowed his eyes at Alphonse and was watching him like a hawk now.  “Alphonse what just happened?”

          “Nothing happened Brother.  Let’s just put the books up and we can do something to relax…”  Alphonse’s voice stopped as Edward’s hand pressed down on his shoulder.  The other was lifting Al’s chin so he had to meet Ed’s eyes.

          “Al do you want me to kiss you?”

          Alphonse’s eyes widened before switching to slightly panicked.  “No we don’t do that.  We’ve never done that – you never wanted to do that.”

          Ed took a breath in through his nose and let it back out again without letting go of Al’s chin.  “We haven’t done that because I wasn’t sure how to and keep everything else straight.  But I know how to now.  And I’m asking you if you want me to kiss you, Alphonse.”

          Al’s eyes were huge and he was having trouble answering.  Ed moved his hand from Al’s chin to cup his face and the hand on his shoulder moved down to curve around his hip.  “You’ve never been kissed, have you Alphonse?”

          Al managed to shake his head no.  Ed shifted and the next thing Al knew Ed had his knees over Al’s legs and was effectively pinning him to the couch with his body.  Edward nuzzled into Alphonse’s neck and got a whine of need in reply.

          “I’ll get up right now if you tell me you don’t want this.  But your body is telling me you do, and I wanna do this for you.  I’d love to kiss you right now, Alphonse.  But only if you want me to.  I’ll never do anything you don’t want.”

          Al closed his eyes and blindly turned, seeking Ed.  He felt his brother’s hands cup his face and felt his breath against his mouth.  “Please kiss me” Alphonse whispered.

          Ed’s lips closed the distance and very lightly, very gently his brother kissed him.  Ed’s lips moved slowly and deliberately over his own.  Alphonse parted his lips with a gasp and Ed gently ran his tongue across the opening.  Al opened his lips further and Ed’s tongue brushed into his mouth, gently teasing.

          Alphonse hadn’t known what to expect, but this was more intimate than their first sexual encounters had been.  He reached hungry lips for more of Ed – he just wanted.  His body was throbbing with so much and his heart was full to bursting and his breath came out in a sob.  Ed’s flesh hand came up to soothe underneath his shirt, and Al realized he was grinding himself into his brother’s giving body. 

          “Shhh,” Ed soothed.  “I’m sorry Alphonse.  I didn’t know how much you needed this.”  Ed’s mouth came back to his lips again and Alphonse got swept into the hunger and need of kissing his brother again.  Ed gently nipped at the corner of his mouth and before he knew quite what was happening, Ed’s tongue was diving into his mouth again and Alphonse orgasmed in his clothes. 

          Al’s breath shuddered in and out while he tried to calm down after such a fast release.  Ed kept him cuddled close and when his breathing was calmer moved back slightly to meet his eyes again.  Once Edward was sure Alphonse was looking at him, he raised a hand to move Al’s bangs off his sweaty forehead.  “I love you Alphonse.”

          Alphonse closed his eyes and swallowed.  “Roy told me.  The last time we talked he told me that we were different now.  The way we loved each other.  And I asked him if we were allowed to do that.  He told me there was no precedent for this and he’d never hold it against us.  And I’ve been so afraid, Ed.  Because I know I love you more than I should.  I just don’t want to get in the way when we get back.”

          Edward pulled Alphonse into a hug.  “You will never be in the way.  Roy has always known I love you more than most people love their siblings.  I’m still not sure how we’re going to work everything out, but I love both of you.  And Roy loves you, just differently.  I don’t know if he’d ever want all three of us together sexually, but I know he wants you in our lives.  The rest will work itself out.”

          “Now let’s go get a shower.  Do you have any idea how worked up I am after that?”

          Alphonse smiled softly.  “I’ll meet you there in a minute.”  Al sat on the couch just wrapping his head around he and Ed finally saying it out loud.  And kissing.  He still felt hazy from his orgasm, but was able to manage standing and headed in the direction of the bedroom. 

          Al stripped and grabbed the lubrication and a condom just in case the shower went where he thought it would.  He went into the bathroom and closed the door behind him to keep it warm and steamy.

          Edward poked his head out of the shower and grinned at him.  “Come on in the water’s just like you like it.”  Al always liked the shower a bit warmer than Ed did.

          Alphonse stepped into the shower to see Edward just rinsing the soap from his body.  Edward grabbed the washcloth and soap and gestured for Alphonse to turn so he could get his back for him.  After thoroughly soaping his younger brother up and rinsing him off, Ed pulled him into a soothing hug.

          Al sighed happily into Ed’s hair.  Ed rubbed his back and said quietly “I’m really sorry Al.  I would have kissed you earlier if I’d known.”

          “And how could you have known?  I never said anything about it because I thought it was just too much to ask of you.  I still can’t believe you’re okay with kissing me now.”

          “Things changed when you got sick,” Ed admitted.  “I dunno why, but I’d been putting you and Roy into two different categories.  Didn’t think I could love both of you that way.  Found out I was wrong when it seemed like I might have lost you.  The funny thing is Roy probably knew that before I did, the damn bastard.”

          “Well he did figure out we were having sex without me telling him.  He knows how you think, Brother.  I can’t wait for you to see him again.”

          Edward pulled back to look up slightly into Alphonse’s face.  His younger brother was almost three inches taller than him now and still growing.  “When we do get back you better not put yourself last, Al.  Roy gets that we’re gonna need time to ourselves, and you better not try to be all noble and not take advantage of that.  Your needs matter, too.”

          Alphonse blushed a little thinking of Roy saying something very similar.  “How do you both know to say that?”

          Ed grinned at him.  “Because we both love you, you idiot.  Now c’mere.  I wanna kiss you again.”

           The kissing led to other things, which surprised neither of them.  What was a bit of a surprise to Alphonse was that Edward wanted Al facing him during the sex.  Before in the shower they’d always faced away from each other.  But now it seemed like Ed couldn’t stand to not kiss Al, and who was Al to argue with that?

          It had taken some coordinated effort, but Ed had kept Al balanced on the shower wall with his auto-mail hand under his ass and Al had wrapped his legs around Ed’s waist.  Edward discovered what it felt like to kiss Alphonse as he came inside of him.  And decided it was probably the best thing he’d ever felt with his little brother.  Alphonse was so relaxed after having his second release that Ed was almost afraid he’d fall.  So he just stepped closer and wrapped his arms around him until Al could properly feel his legs again. 

          They decided to spend the rest of the evening in bed talking, researching, and kissing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still two chapters to go. I'm feeling less angst in the story now, and really hope it stays that way. Looked up a calendar for 1925 to get the last few days correct - ironically October 31 was a full moon that year which completely plays into the mythological aspect of this.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saying goodbye to Paris.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Relatively soon is relative, apparently. Working the last chapter now. Having some unexpected issues with it (boys want sex, I want plot, go figure), but it's coming along. May end up reorganizing chapter 8 a bit because it's looking like bits of Chapter 9 might fit better with it. Also, I added a dubious consent tag to the story after rereading again and realizing at least two of the smutty scenes could be considered dub con. Those two scenes prove to be consented upon, but at a later date when the boys do the talking thing. So....thanks again for hanging in there with this thing.

**Paris, October 27, 1925**

          Alphonse woke with a morning erection and a smile remembering how they’d talked last night.  The kissing seemed to have unlocked their ability to accept the changes between them.  Between talking about those changes they’d also managed some research.  They’d gone over every piece of the mythology of Samhain they could think of. 

Alphonse had mentioned the moon would be full this year, which could only help their efforts.  The particular goddess associated with Samhain, also known as All Hallow’s Eve, wasn’t well known in France so it had been difficult to get a great deal of information on her.  The Morrigan as she was known, was a goddess of war and death and Samhain was the last harvest festival before winter hit.  It was also the one time a year when the spirits of the dead could choose to cross over and visit the living.  Alphonse was counting on this being related somehow to the Gate as the spirits of Amestris passed into the Gate.

          Edward was mumbling on his side next to him with what Alphonse thought at first were the ramblings of a nightmare.  Until he noticed Ed’s body was showing a different sort of arousal.  Eyebrows raised he paid attention to what Ed was mumbling.  And was startled to find Edward was dreaming of both Alphonse and Roy. 

          Al ran a soothing hand down Ed’s back while he thought about that.  He really wasn’t sure if he could think of Roy that way – the last time he’d seen the man he’d been in a thirteen year old body that had no interest in sex.  Then again, he’d never really thought of Edward’s body in that way either.  And now he loved the sight of Ed’s naked body.  He’d accepted that it might be a very long time before he was ready to pursue any relationship beyond the one they already had.  Alphonse couldn’t imagine loving anyone else the way he loved Edward.

          Ed rolled onto his back and Al pushed the sheets off him to take in his brother’s flushed and aroused body.  Their policy had always been to help ease the other’s erection if one of them were having a dream like this.  But Al found he didn’t want Ed to get off while he was asleep.  He wanted his brother’s eyes on him and fully awake when he finished.

          Al grabbed lube and a condom before returning his attention to Ed’s hungry body.  Ed’s hips rolled on the bed and he moaned which made Al extremely curious as to what exactly was going on in that dream.  He ran a finger lightly down the length of Ed’s flesh leg and watched the toes curl. 

          The end of Ed’s cock glistened with pre-cum as he moved restlessly against the sheets.  Al licked his lips a bit and opened the jar of lube to slick up his fingers.  He’d found over the last year or so that fellatio was one of his favorite sexual activities.  Something to do with licking, filling his mouth up, and the smell of Ed’s sex just did it for him.  Ed had woken numerous times to find Al’s mouth around his cock just as he was getting off and he never seemed to have a problem with it.

          Al lightly danced his fingers around the base of Ed’s erection which had the desired effect of Ed pulling his legs back.  There was much more room for Alphonse to settle himself down next to his brother’s leaking cock now and he took advantage of it.  As Alphonse began nosing at Edward’s dick he also placed a hand down to reach Ed’s anus. 

          Slowly Al began to investigate Ed’s cock, first with his nose, then pressing dry kisses along it, and finally getting his tongue involved.  His other hand was pressing circles around the opening to Ed’s ass.  Taking his time like this would give Ed a very strong orgasm and hopefully have Edward awake when it happened.

          Alphonse licked all the way up to the tip and swiped the glistening stuff off the end.  Ed moaned and pushed up against him, head turning on the pillow and mouth open.  Smiling just a bit Al continued to lick and suck from the tip back to the base while pressing just his thumb into Ed’s ass.  In his sleep Ed offered his body readily, spreading his legs further and arching his hips. 

          Getting tired of teasing, Alphonse opened his mouth and began to slowly take Ed’s cock into his lips.  His thumb gently moved around the inside of Ed’s opening several times before he pulled it out and inserted his middle finger.  Ed was beginning to wake up now, Al could feel the change in his breathing.

          Ed’s flesh hand came down to pull Al’s bangs up and caress his face.  “You were dreaming,” Al informed him when he pulled off to get a breath.  “You said both my name and Roy’s and I just couldn’t wait until you were awake.”

          Ed’s pupils were blown and his voice was much lower than it normally would be.  He rasped out “I remember.  Roy was inside me and I was blowing you.  Woke up with you sucking on me, holy fuck Al.”

                   Al raised brows at him.  “You’ve worked me through a wet dream plenty of times.  But I really wanted to know what you were dreaming and I wanted you awake when you finished.  So I just took my time.  Are you complaining?”  Al inserted his index finger along with his middle and began moving them both inside Ed’s anus.  Ed closed his eyes and whimpered.  He licked his lips before whispering “Please stop teasing me.  I’m so hard I feel like I’m gonna explode.”

          Al laid a kiss on the inside of Ed’s thigh.  “Do you want to finish in my mouth?”  Ed groaned and nodded weakly.  Alphonse took his brother’s cock back into his mouth and was unsurprised to find it really didn’t take much.  Edward had been pretty far gone before Alphonse started touching him, so just a bit was more than enough.

          Al pulled off enough so just the tip was behind his lips.  While he loved fellatio the semen was difficult to swallow.  He’d found just holding the tip made it much easier, and less tended to escape his mouth.  Ed’s dazed eyes met his satisfied ones.  Al pulled completely off and licked the outsides of his lips before crawling up Ed’s body.

          “C’mere,” Ed breathed just before grabbing him in for a kiss.  Ed startled a bit tasting his own semen on Al’s mouth, but that didn’t seem to be a problem.  “You missed a bit,” he said quietly before running his own tongue on the outside of Al’s mouth to clean him up. 

          “Well that was a helluva wake up.  What brought that on?”

          “It was the dream you were having.  Just couldn’t resist after that.”  Al rolled his hips against Ed’s side.  He’d gained more control and no longer finished just from blowing Ed.  Ed’s eyebrows raised and he smiled.  “I see you were very interested.  How would you like me to take care of that for you?”

          Al played with Ed’s hair a bit as he thought about it.  He sent a shy look up to Ed before asking.  “Could you, I mean, you love it when I ride you.  Do you think we could try it the other way?”

          “Yeah Al, I think we can do that.”

* * *

 

          It was a nice afternoon so they went out for a walk around one of the nearby parks.  Although there had been ample opportunity they never got the cat Al had always wanted.  Every time Edward had suggested it Alphonse would say he couldn’t take on a cat knowing they were going back through the Gate.  While thinking of this Ed asked Al if he’d thought at all about getting a cat once they were back.

          A small smile gathered on Al’s face.  “I’d really like that Brother.  But don’t we need to see if Roy would be okay with that, too?”

          “Yeah I guess we do.  This whole living together thing…it’s gonna take some getting used to, huh?”

          “Well yes, but you spent a lot of time with him before and you got along well, didn’t you?”

          They’d spotted a park bench and headed toward it.  Ed snorted as he sat down.  “You know, Roy and I bitched at each other a lot over little things.  He couldn’t stand that I didn’t pick up my socks and I hated that he didn’t like me taking books to bed.  But we worked through it.  Once we’re all settled I’ll bring up the cat subject.  It’d be really great for you to finally be able to have one Al.”

          Alphonse blushed self-consciously as he remembered being armor and getting so upset when Edward wouldn’t let him keep the kitty he’d found.  “Getting a kitty would be amazing, but not until we’re ready for it.  Is there anything you’re going to miss here?”

          Ed scratched the back of his head as he thought about it.  “I think the only thing I’ll really miss is the bakery.  Their food is great – maybe we can find a place like it back in Amestris.”

          Alphonse looked around like he was trying to take a mental picture.  “Roy said he was going to get a transfer so we could be near a university.  I will miss the art museums here, there seem to be more than in Amestris.  But it’s nice to know we’ll be near a university that specializes in alchemy.”

          Edward smiled softly, turning his head to look at his brother.  “Roy always did look out for us.  Both of us.  I’m really glad you’re gonna get to see him outside of the office, Al.  There’s so much more to him than he shows behind his desk.”

          “Ed….do you ever wonder what Mom would think of all this?”

          Ed pulled in a shocked breath then concentrated on relaxing again.  And made himself think about the question.  Would their mother have been able to accept even half of what had happened?  She’d fallen in love with Hohenheim, a man who had lived for hundreds of years after producing a philosopher’s stone.  She’d known his body was decaying, and loved him nonetheless.  She’d had children with him then watched him walk away and never loved him any less.

          His mother had been the most loving and understanding person Edward had ever known.  While she may never have approved of what her boys had done, he had trouble believing she wouldn’t have still loved them.  He accepted that she might have been horrified to find her sons were having sex with each other, but also knew just how big her heart was.

          And so he said to Alphonse “Mom never stopped loving Hohenheim.  Even when he gave her reason to.  I don’t know exactly what she would have thought about everything we’ve been through, but I do know she never would have stopped loving us.”

          He stood up and brushed his slacks off.  “Come on let’s walk over to one of those art museums you like so much.  Won’t get to see much of that after we’re home.”

          Alphonse stood and walked with Edward, content with the idea of spending a day with his brother amongst the paintings and statues he loved.

**Paris, October 29, 1925**

          They’d boarded the train to Rennes at 10:00 that morning and were now on their way.  The trip was slated to take five hours give or take and Al glanced fondly down at his sleeping sibling.  They’d only been on the train for an hour when Ed had begun to yawn and blink sleepily.  He’d fallen asleep shortly afterward much to Al’s amusement. 

          The last time the two of them had been on a train together they’d still been in Amestris and Alphonse had been the armor.  It was strange to think of how their souls had been entwined at the time because things were so very different now that Al had a human body again.  He had to wonder if they had managed to stay in Amestris if the sex could have been avoided.

They certainly would have had more resources to draw from if that had been the case.  As it was stuck on this side of the Gate they’d had only each other and Al knew Ed would have killed anyone else if they’d attempted to touch him that way.

          He and Roy hadn’t talked specifics yet, but Al suspected both of them would come up with a schedule of sorts in the beginning.  It would drive Ed crazy because Ed loved both of them and would just want the three of them to work it out.  But Al knew his own needs well enough to know he’d need some privacy in the beginning to deal with Ed’s time alone with Roy.  And he suspected Roy was thinking along very similar lines.   Alphonse and Roy had both become excellent at interpreting minute expressions on other peoples’ faces.  He and Roy understood each other on a level Ed may never really reach.  It would take some very delicate balancing to keep Ed from feeling pulled between the two of them, but Al knew Roy was a master at prioritizing.  They would find a way to work everything out, but Al wouldn’t be surprised if his brother wasn’t too keen on things in the beginning.

          Alphonse smiled softly as he remembered yesterday.  It was a day neither of them would ever mention to another person because it had been their day.  He was still sore from the sex, and he imagined Ed was too, but it had been so worth it.  Their last night and day in the safe haven that had been their home with no one else to judge or question them.  It had been beautiful.

          The train pulled up into the Rennes station at 4:00 pm and the brothers made their way to the inn Ed had made reservations at.  When they checked in the lady at the front was very apologetic, but confessed to only having rooms with one double bed left.  Ed assured her it wouldn’t be a problem and Al snorted in his head.  _Brother always does manage to get what he wants.  He’d worried about how much rest the two of them would get in a twin bed, and now we’re suddenly granted the double.  Tonight will be much more comfortable than we’d imagined._

          They went up to the room long enough to toss their bags on the bed before heading out for food.  Once a restaurant had been located and food had been consumed the two made their way to a store the waitress had recommended.  They were able to purchase two quality sleeping bags and a small lamp for camping before heading back to the inn.

          With the addition of the sleeping bags they were only lacking tomorrow’s purchase of a car to complete their trip to Carnac, which would be their final stop on this side of the Gate.  The Carnac Stones were the closest set of standing stones and should work well for what they’d planned. 

          As they readied for bed, Edward held out his hand to Alphonse.  “Shower with me?” he murmured.  With a small smile Alphonse took the offered hand and walked with Edward into the bathroom.  They each took their own clothes off as the water heated and then stepped into the shower. 

          Ed pulled Al into a hug and stood with his head on Al’s shoulder for several minutes.  He looked up into his younger brother’s eyes before moving to kiss him.  Kissing had become Alphonse’s favorite thing to do sexually and they spent most of the shower perfecting it.  Al remembered they hadn’t washed and quickly grabbed the soap and washcloth to perform the necessary task.  He was a bit concerned that Ed was being so quiet, but when he asked about it the reply was “I just want to savor this.  The rest of this trip back is just about you and me, Al.  I always want you to be able to look back on this and be happy.”

          Alphonse swallowed before pulling Edward’s face around so he could see into his sibling’s eyes.  “I love you, Ed.”  Al leaned down and kissed Ed while Ed’s arms came up around him to keep him close.  He stepped back just enough to reach between the two of them and grab their very interested sex.  Slowly Al worked them through an orgasm as they kissed until the water ran cool.

          In the bed curled around each other Al whispered “What do you think the goddess will be like Brother?”

          Ed blinked and frowned.  “What do you mean?  We’re not gonna actually meet her, we’re just gonna use the idea of her energy to open the portal.  Besides, why would you want to meet a goddess?”

          Al made a face at the back of Ed’s head.  _Sometimes you drive me crazy Brother.  I was hoping maybe she could tell us something about Mom and Dad since she’s a death goddess.  Or about life as a god.  Having human form but not having the actual rules of human society would be fascinating to hear from her._

          Alphonse curled himself around Edward again and kissed the back of his neck.  “Goodnight Brother.”

* * *

 

The car purchase and subsequent three hour trip from Rennes to Carnac had gone uneventfully.  About halfway there they’d stopped to eat the meal they’d purchased for lunch before leaving Rennes.  The nerves were beginning to wear on both brothers, but Edward’s tells were always more obvious than Alphonse’s.  Al could see the tension in Ed’s shoulders while he drove the last of the trip.  He reached over and grabbed Ed’s auto-mail hand to give it a squeeze while giving Ed a small smile.  Which in turn got him a smile back and easing of shoulder muscles momentarily. 

          As planned once they reached Carnac they drove to the stones.  The car had to be left on side of the road as they walked the rest of the way into the Carnac Stones.  Al thought the area had a different feel to it, but Ed scoffed at the idea the land containing the stones might be any different.  They found a secluded area approximately half a mile away from the stones for their sleeping area, but neglected to set anything up yet.  Now was the time to head into the town proper for any last minute items they may need.  And food, of course.

          The errands took them a couple of hours and this time as they approached the stones the found a spot to leave the car in case they needed it the following day.  Sleeping bags, lamp, and their other meager belongings came out with them to the area they’d scouted earlier in the day.  Ed combined the two sleeping bags into one big one for the comfort of sleeping next to each other.  Both knew they were far too anxious for anything but sleep, but both also wanted the comfort of the other.

          “You really haven’t thought about the goddess at all?  There are so many things we could ask her Brother.”

          Ed gave Al a small smile from over the lamp light.  “Gods are thought processes humans use to comfort themselves with.  They’re an explanation for things that can’t be easily explained.  I gave up on any belief in Gods after Mom died, Al.  But by all means if you have some questions to ask I won’t stop you.”

          Al frowned a bit.  “I don’t know if Gods are real or not, but maybe just the belief in her was real enough to give her an existence of sorts.  And I **am** curious what that would be like.  So I will ask my questions if she shows, but mostly I just want us to get home safely.”

          Ed got up and came around to sit down beside Al.  “Getting home safely is absolutely the most important thing.  C’mon and put out that lamp, Al.  We need as much sleep as we can get.”

          The lamp was doused and shoes were taken off.  Al slithered into the sleeping bag with Ed and tried to take some calming breaths.  And was somewhat surprised when Ed turned over and then gestured with his hands for Al to roll over as well.  Ed was now spooning Al and nuzzled into the back of his younger brother’s neck.  Inexplicably Alphonse began to relax at the feel of his older brother’s breathing against the back of his neck.  “Go t’sleep Al.  If your goddess is real you’ll see her tomorrow,” Ed murmured.

          Al pulled Ed’s arm tighter around him and closed his eyes.  _Tomorrow night, Brother.  You will see Roy again and I just may get to speak to a Goddess.  And we won’t have to live in fear of your auto-mail being discovered anymore.  Just one more night and we’ll be home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter left! Having the brothers take a train from Paris to Rennes was a nod to the many, many train trips they took in Amestris. Since the snow storms are hopefully all done and my technology crisis is over for the most part I'm hoping to get the final chapter completed relatively soon. Please do let me know if there are any obvious typos.
> 
> So....I was just reviewing this since I'm working on Part 3 now and realized the last part of Chapter 8 never got added. -_- So VERY sorry about that. Hope this makes up for it since there's no break between the last two chapters now


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting gods isn't quite what the Elric brothers thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy freaking long chapter! Thanks so much to those of you who stuck around for the end of this. It's the longest thing I've written so far and I've left it open just in case a sequel decides to be born. First things first I added a bit to the end of chapter 8 so you may want to go back and give that a look before you plunge into this. Also, due to the recent issue with Ebook tree (yes I had a piece that was stolen and uploaded to the site) I've added the privacy setting to all of my works here so that only registered users can access them. Please do pass the word on to any friends who may have been viewing Another Time as a guest as they won't be able to access it now.
> 
> Nothing in this story is going to be terribly accurate in a historical sense. I've done basic research, but nothing in depth so keep that in mind. With that said please enjoy the final chapter :-)

**Carnac, France, October 31, 1925**

          Sleep had been restless, but they both woke to the warmth of the sun on their faces.  Edward was able to return the favor Alphonse had performed for him a few mornings ago, then took care of himself and cleaned up with some of the ever present cloths he managed to have.  They’d not spoken of it, but both knew intimacy between them would be nearly impossible the first few days after their return to Amestris.  Anything they indulged in now would be savored because they really had no idea what was going to happen once they crossed the Gate again.

          When ready the two got up and cleaned up a bit with some water in a bowl and put fresh clothing on.  The walked over to the stones again to see where it would be best to set up the alchemical circle they’d designed for this crossing.  Alphonse walked the area of the stones twice before declaring what he thought was the perfect spot for their circle.  He didn’t tell Ed the area felt more powerful to him, but Ed was fine with the spot as it fit his size requirement for the circle.  With that decision out of the way they went back to their camp for breakfast. 

          Munching on some bread, cheese, and fruit they’d acquired the night before the two swallowed it all down with water.  Alphonse still thought it hilarious how much Edward despised milk, but for the purposes of this meal milk wouldn’t have worked anyway. 

          Once the meal was done Alphonse brought out the small pocket knife he’d purchased and began whittling a stick he wanted to use for drawing the circle.  Edward had snorted at first, but upon realizing his preferred chalk wouldn’t work in the dirt the stones were surrounded with, he’d also chosen a stick and was working on it with his own knife.

          Once the sticks were completed to their satisfaction the brothers drew a practice circle not far from their camp.  It took approximately five minutes for them to draw the circle, so they planned to draw the actual circle at 11:30 pm so it would be ready when midnight arrived.  Even though Edward snorted at the idea of magical energy, the entire premise of this attempt centered on the mythology of the Celtic goddess The Morrigan.  And all of the books they’d found recommended working with this goddess’ energy at midnight.  So midnight it would be even if Edward thought the time was ridiculous.

          They stood back together to admire the circle they’d created.  The circle represented the alchemical premise Izumi had taught them:  one is all and all is one.  Inside the circle was a triangle to symbolize the stages of alchemy; magical symbols for the elements of earth, air, fire, and water; and a triskele with many spirals to appeal to the Celtic goddess.  The triangle represented understanding the composition of matter, deconstruction, and reconstruction.  There were also alchemical symbols for passing through doorways engraved around the triangle.  It was a representation of both the alchemy they were familiar with and the magic they knew next to nothing about.

          Quickly they walked around the circle and dismantled the drawing with their shoes in case anyone were to walk by and see it.  While using mythological magic was their way through the Gate, the people of this time would be terrified by the symbols they’d just drawn.  Magical symbols in this day and age weren’t something the brothers wanted any random person to see.

          They tidied up their meager camp before heading off to the car and their last trip into the small town of Carnes.  A hot meal awaited them, along with plans to purchase another meal for that evening which could be eaten at the Stones.  This would be the last time their newly purchased car would be used, so they enjoyed a leisurely drive around the area before heading into the town proper.

          When Ed and Al returned from their lunch in town there were a few local people wandering around the Stones.  They’d expected this and smiled while they walked through to where they’d left their camp.  Thankfully nothing had been disturbed and the brothers decided to take a nap in the warm afternoon sun.  Ed and Al each lay in their own sleeping bag just in case anyone were to walk past, but side by side.  This was the last time they’d have to get any real rest, and they had nothing else to do until late that evening.  The two lay whispering to each other until they were both able to doze off.

          When they woke the sun was beginning to set so Edward set the lamp up for use.  Alphonse did another quick walk through of the Stones, waving at the last couple of locals who were still there.  It was customary for those who visited the stones to leave by nightfall and they posed no threat to the brothers’ plans.  Once he was certain of just how many people were left Al called over to Ed.

          “Brother come sit with me.  The sun is going to set and the view will be spectacular.”

          Ed walked over with a smile and also waved at the few remaining locals who were slowly making their way home up the dirt road.  He sat down with a sigh and looked up into the dusk sky.

          “You’re right, Al.  This is really something.  We’ve got hours yet before we can get the circle ready.  Did you have anything you wanna do?”

          Alphonse turned his head to watch the last person walking up the road away from them.  Once they were out of his line of sight he turned back to Ed with a slightly assessing look.  “Exactly what supplies did you bring with us, Brother?  There are definitely things I want to do, but it might prove more difficult out here.”

          Ed’s mouth dropped open slightly.  “Are you serious?  I don’t remember being **that** horny at fifteen.  You really wanna spend the rest of the evening having sex Al?”

          The look on Al’s face could only be described as predatory.  “We don’t know what’s going to happen when we get back.  And it won’t be **all** evening.  But yes, that’s what I want to do.”

          Ed swallowed harshly before clearing his throat.  “Well I guess it’s a good thing I brought that stuff then.  But we’ll have to be quiet and we can’t do anything here we’ll have to go back to camp…”

          Al’s mouth on his cut off the rest of Ed’s babbling.  “Actually I think we should do something here.  The Celts valued fertility and the goddess had several sons herself.  A sexual act here among the stones may just give us the edge we need,” he murmured against Ed’s throat.  “Why don’t you go get the sleeping bags and the stuff and meet me where we’re going to draw the circle?  I’ll be waiting for you, Brother.”

          Alphonse nipped gently just behind Edward’s ear before getting up and strolling off.  _Brother needs to relax and this really might help with the magic we need.  Besides this might be my last chance to be a bit more dominant with him.  We both need this._

It didn’t take long for Edward to meet Alphonse in the designated spot.  Alphonse wordlessly took the sleeping bags and spread them out to his liking.  Edward found himself strangely quiet as Alphonse took the lead tonight.  There had been many times with Roy when Ed found himself being somewhat submissive to Roy’s dominance, but this was new.  Ed’s role with Al had always been as the teacher and he found himself thrilling to this new aspect in their relationship.

Considering the main concerns for this evening were to relax his brother and to raise sexual energy Al was clear on taking the lead, but in no hurry to rush things.  He leisurely undressed Ed, but left his own clothing on.  Ed seemed remarkably aroused by the change in Al’s behavior.  He trembled, gasped, pleaded, and moaned as Al proceeded to kiss, nip, and lick all over his body.  After a very thorough blow job Al took off his own clothing while Ed was recovering from his orgasm.

Edward lay prone on the sleeping bags watching his younger brother with half closed eyes.  “What’s all this about, Al?” he murmured drowsily.

Al crawled catlike over his body, kissing him thoroughly.  “We need the energy boost for the portal to open and you need to relax.  Besides Brother, I’ve never really had the chance to take care of you before.  It’s always been you taking care of my needs.  Don’t you like it?” 

Ed gasped as Al’s very talented mouth found the sensitive skin just behind his ear.  Al’s hands were busily working Ed’s body back into semi-arousal and it was all he could do not to whimper.  “I fucking love it,” Ed managed to whisper roughly.

Alphonse lifted his head to meet Edward’s eyes squarely.  “That’s good Brother.  I need you to tell me if I try anything you don’t like, okay?  We’ve got several hours before we can draw the circle and I intend to keep you very, very busy.”

Ed’s eyes began to glaze over as Al’s index finger circled and entered his rectum.  “Please,” he whispered to the beautiful young man whose entire focus was his pleasure.

“I intend to,” he was informed just before Al’s tongue invaded his mouth and a second finger was added to stretch him open.  Ed gave himself over to his brother’s ministrations in a way he’d never done before.  Al was attentive to his every sound and movement.  Just when something became too much or not enough it would change.  Ed was practically sobbing by the time Al was at his entrance.

Pausing momentarily Al pulled up to speak softly into Ed’s ear.  “We’re running low on condoms Brother.  Do you want me to use one?”

Wordlessly Ed shook his head.  His body was a ruined mess and he needed Al inside him **now.** Al pulled Ed’s legs further apart than usual, then leaned into Ed’s body to prop Ed’s legs over his shoulders.  With one hand on the sleeping bag next to Ed’s heaving chest Al used the other to hold his cock as he pushed inside.  Sweat was abundant on his forehead at the concentration this had taken, but it was so worth it.  Ed had never come apart this much before.  As he began to move Al felt a surge in the feeling of the place around him. 

Rocking into Ed was pulling Al into his own orgasm.  Quickly he used his free hand to pull Ed up into a kiss.  As he explored Ed’s mouth thoroughly with tongue and teeth he felt more than heard Ed sob into his mouth.  _Oh good_ Al thought as he felt Ed’s body helplessly tightening around him.  Ed painted them in streams of pulsing white as Al felt himself pulsing into Ed.  _Thank goodness Ed remembered to bring cleaning supplies, too.  This would have made a horribly sticky mess otherwise._

They lay gasping against each other for quite some time before Alphonse managed to raise his head and look down at Edward.  “I hope you know it’s your turn next, Brother.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?  I need at least an hour before I can be expected to move,” his older brother informed him in the most sexually satisfied tone of voice Al had heard from him.

Al hummed happily against Ed’s throat and decided an hour would be the perfect amount of time to rest before getting Ed worked up again.

 

          It was a memorable evening that did seem to raise the magical level around the stones.  But the most important thing for Alphonse was Edward finally did relax and they were able to just rest together until it was time to begin preparations for the circle.

* * *

 

          The circle had been redrawn in its designated spot and now all that was left was for midnight to ascend.  Alphonse had said nothing to Edward about it, but after the sex they’d had earlier he’d felt that **different** feeling about this area increase.  He was counting on whatever that was opening the portal for them at the appointed time.  Edward was getting nervous again with nothing to do, so Alphonse pulled him down next to him.  “What will you say to Roy when we get home, Brother?”

          Such simple words, but they gave Ed a purpose in those last few minutes.  He was able to concentrate fully on them and stop the restless fidgeting he’d been doing.  “I dunno.  I really don’t.  I mean, do you walk up to the love of your life and ask how they’ve been when they know you’re fucking your brother?  Maybe we shouldn’t have involved Roy in this…”

          “Ed you weren’t there.  Roy thought about what his life would be without you in it – without us in it.  He knows what’s happened and he’s willing to accept it.  All of it.  I can’t really imagine anyone else would be able or willing to, but he does want a life with us.  I think all you really need to tell him when you get back is that you love him.  The rest will come in time.  And Ed, you need to accept that Roy and I may never have as close a relationship as the one you have with him.  It’s something we’ll just have to work out on our own.”

          Edward turned to give Alphonse a soft smile.  “How did you get so smart when it comes to people?  I know I need both of you in my life, but I didn’t know Roy had really thought about it.  And you’re right – whatever happens between you and Roy is your business.  I just want both of you to be happy, safe, and whole.”

          Alphonse pulled Edward’s auto-mail hand into his own.  “I want to have you whole again, too Brother.  I’m not going to give up searching for a way to make that happen.”

          Ed swallowed.  He looked down at their joined hands then brought Al’s forward to lay a chaste kiss on it.  “You did it once and I lost you.  I can’t do that again, Al.  You can keep looking if you want, but you can’t take a chance like that again.  Promise me.” 

Ed’s eyes bored into Al’s until the younger lowered his eyes.  “I promise Brother.  I’ll run all of my ideas by you first so we both know what we’re getting into.”

          Alphonse glanced at his watch and saw the time was almost upon them.  With a tap at his watch to Edward, Al pulled him to his feet and both readied themselves for whatever was going to happen next. 

          As the midnight hour hit them Alphonse felt the ground he was standing upon begin to hum.  It felt full of an energy he’d not fully grasped before and by instinct he went onto his knees beside the circle.  Ed frowned but mimicked his movement, placing his hands upon the circle as Al was. 

          Al pulled in a breath and turned to smile at Ed.  “We’re going home now.  I can feel it.”  Al pushed into all that energy.  And felt something inside him come to life.  Apparently Alphonse had an aptitude for the magic of this world that Edward didn’t have.  He didn’t know if it was because of Ed’s sheer lack of belief in gods and religion or something else, but whatever it was he used it.

          Off to their right something was beginning to gather.  Alphonse kept all the magical energy circulating while the figure of a woman began to coalesce.  Ed was flabbergasted, but managed to keep his usual screech to himself.  The woman turned a curious face to them before quietly stating, “That’s quite enough young man.  I don’t know what you’re planning to do with all that energy you’ve raised, but you have my attention.  What is it you want?”

          Al and Ed sat back as the woman slowly approached them.  She was tall with long flowing hair a color they’d not seen before.  It was a deeper red than anything they’d seen – almost the color of blood from a head wound.  Her skin was pale in the moonlight and her eyes a deep reddish-brown.  She was swathed in robes that seemed to be made of the dark night around them rather than cloth.  And she appeared very curious about them based on how she was looking them over.

          A small frown appeared on her face.  “How are you still mortal?  You have both died twice - I can feel it.  You should have been ferried to the underworld ages ago, yet there is no taint of sorcery on you.”

          Ed was staring open mouthed so Al tried to explain their situation.  “You’re right, we’ve both technically died twice.  But we’re not from your world, we’re from another world where magic doesn’t exist, but alchemy does.  So we used our alchemical skills to survive a mortal death twice.  And now we’re trying to open the portal between our two worlds so we can go home.  We mean no offense to you, Lady.  You **are** thegoddess known as The Morrigan, aren’t you?”

          She nodded in acknowledgement.  “I felt renewed interest lately.  It must have been the two of you.  Tell me, how did you learn of me if this is not your world?”

          Al looked ruefully at Ed who shrugged.  “Alchemy involves lots of reading.  There are lots of books written about you.  We just figured we could use magic instead of alchemy to get home.  And we’re hoping you might help us.”

          The Morrigan folded her hands together in front of her.  “Tell me of these deaths you experienced and I might help you open your portal.”

          Al put a hand on Ed’s arm to keep him from speaking.  “Our mother died when we were young.  I was ten and Ed was eleven.  Our father was gone and we had no other family so we wanted to be with her again.  We didn’t understand that trying to bring Mom back was wrong.  And we paid the price for the attempt.  I lost my entire body and Ed lost his left leg.  To bring my soul back Ed sacrificed his right arm.  I lived as a suit of armor for almost five years.  We finally found a way to restore my physical body, but Ed was killed.  And I couldn’t live without him so I gave up my soul to bring him back to life.  But Ed couldn’t accept that I was gone.  So he used the renewed body I had given him to bring me back.  The problem then was that I was in Amestris and Ed was over here with his auto-mail again.  It’s a bit of a long story,” Alphonse ended apologetically.

          The Morrigan’s frown was more pronounced.  “Auto-mail?” 

          Ed helpfully held up his arm and pulled the sleeve up so she could see his auto-mail.  Her eyebrows rose at the sight, but she nodded thanks at him.

          “You told me of your two deaths young man, but only one of your brother’s.  And why could you not simply curry the favor of one of the Underworld gods to visit your mother?  I do not understand the desperation you’re describing.”

          Both brothers looked confused now.  “Underworld?  What are you talking about?” Alphonse asked slowly.

          The Morrigan cocked her head at them in curiosity.  “You truly do not know?  The Underworld is where the spirits of our dead go.  Well where they used to go before new gods took over.  Now they supposedly go to a realm called Heaven, although I’ve yet to hear of a way to visit it.  I am a gatekeeper of sorts to the Underworld.  One of my duties as a goddess is to guide the souls of the dead to the Underworld.  This particular time of the year is the best time to visit with departed souls.  I just assumed that the two of you had that in mind.”

          Ed was starting to look pissed so Al grabbed him before he could begin ranting at the goddess.  After a few soothing strokes of Al’s arm down his back Ed was able to calm down somewhat.  The goddess had been watching all of this with interest and now had a small smirk.

          “I see the two of you have a very **strong** bond.  That is very bold of you considering the views of the humans on siblings and incest.”  She leveled a knowing smile on them.  “My siblings and I engaged in several affairs over the centuries.  I even had sons with one of my brothers.  But as gods it was accepted.  Is **this** the reason the two of you are trying to get this gate open so very badly?”

          Alphonse took a deep breath while keeping his arm around his trembling brother.  Neither of them had expected to discuss their relationship with the goddess and Edward was very upset.  After pressing a small kiss to the corner of Edward’s mouth Alphonse met the goddess’ amused gaze. 

          “We’re trying to get home because we don’t belong here.  Ed’s auto-mail isn’t accepted and the person he loves is in Amestris.  I won’t have Edward miserable and hiding the rest of his life!  He deserves so much more than that.  And I’m hoping that if we can get back I may still be able to get his full body back.  Please, will you help us?”

          The Morrigan pursed her lips at Alphonse’s response.  “My dear child, there may be someone your brother loves on the other side, but he also loves you.  It is clearly there for anyone who cares to see it.   I am tempted to help you simply because the human taboo on incest infuriates me.  In your case what possible trouble could it cause?  If it were to lead to children, yes I could understand the problem with human genes.  But the two of you could not possibly procreate.  Which leads me to ask one more thing:  which god in your world is responsible for ferrying souls to their resting place?”

          The brothers were baffled.  Edward stepped forward to confront this idea.  “What the fuck are you talking about?  There’s no god for that!  The closest thing I’ve ever seen is that bastard in the Gate that took Al’s body and my arm and leg.”

          The Morrigan stiffened and a dull light was beginning to glow around her.  “No one to care for the dead?  That cannot be.  There must be someone appointed to this task.”

          Alphonse stepped forward and placed a soothing arm around Edward’s waist.  This was something he hadn’t experienced much of himself, but Ed had nightmares about it all the time.  It had been a horrifying experience for his older brother and he was slightly shocked that Ed was willing to speak of it at all.

          “There are god figures in Amestris, but I’ve never heard of one that cares for the dead.  We alchemists believe in the theory of equivalent exchange, but when we tried to bring Mom back we didn’t really understand what it meant.  Brother and I thought by using alchemy and the necessary compounds for a human body we could make it work.  But once someone’s dead in Amestris they stay dead.  We don’t really know what happens to the souls.”

          The goddess was quite obviously pissed off at this idea.  “We are going to open that gate so I may have a conversation with that ‘bastard’ as you called him.  The dead deserve peace once they have left their mortal life, and if they are not receiving it I shall have to do something about that.  But first we need my brother to attend us.  Granted I can use the power you gathered so nicely, but I need him to open the gateway.”

          The Morrigan closed her eyes for a moment before they opened with a slight glow.  “Manannan Mac Lir I summon you!”

          The brothers were glancing at each other as a man seemed to appear out of the darkness around them and walked unhurriedly over to the goddess.  The new arrival smelled of the sea, carried a staff with a trident at the end, and had long bluish green hair.  His skin was a strange combination of green with just a hint of blue, and his hair moved around him as he walked.  It had the appearance of waves and flowed over his shoulders and back as he approached The Morrigan.  Ed gaped at the arrival of one who was clearly not human while Alphonse observed the interactions of the two gods.  They obviously were more than siblings just as he and Ed were, and Al realized the goddess was genuine in her empathy with their situation.

          Manannan raised his brows as the Morrigan quickly filled him in on why she had called him to her side.  He glanced over at Ed and Al before quirking them a quick grin.  “You two are lucky.  The last time I saw Morri so enraged there were many deaths to be had.  My sister takes her duties very seriously, don’t you love?”

          The Morrigan scowled at Manannan.  “Do not call me pet names in front of those boys!  I need your help to open this Gate so I may confront this thing they speak of.  Will you lend me your aid or not?”

          Manannan made a shooing gesture at the brothers.  “Could the two of you give us a moment, please?”

          Amused Alphonse grabbed Edward’s hand and pulled him a few stones away to give the gods time to work out their plan of action.  Edward was in a bit of a shock over finding not one, but **two** gods this evening.  Alphonse pulled Edward into a hug before whispering into his ear “I have a good feeling about this Brother.  I think they’re going to help us and they even seem nice for non-humans.”

          Edward scowled as he heard a throaty moan from the direction of said gods.  “They’re making out, Al.  We finally meet gods and they’re just as horny as the bastard Colonel is.”

          Al smiled against his brother’s hair.  “Does it really matter as long as they help us?”

          “Well no.  But I figured actual gods would be all high and mighty or something.”

          “They are based on human thought processes Brother.  And humans do seem to spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about sex.  So it’s really not all that surprising.”

          Ed sighed in annoyance.  “Are they done yet?”

          “We’re ready to assist you now, if you’d be so kind as to come back over here,” the male god’s voice called cheerily.

          The Morrigan looked decidedly ruffled, but also more relaxed as they approached.  She looked them both over carefully before saying quietly “You both know to keep your relationship relatively quiet once you get home, yes?  I still think it ridiculous, but as humans you will always have to deal with the taboo of incest.  Please be careful.  I would hate to have to escort you to the Underworld before you’ve lived full lives.”

          Alphonse said softly “Yes ma’am” while Edward just nodded.

          The Morrigan looked them over one last time.  “What are your names?”

          “Edward and Alphonse Elric,” Ed supplied as he gestured to each of them in turn. 

          She nodded.  “We may yet see each other again.  Manannan, are you ready?”

          At his nod the goddess gestured for the brothers to come and stand behind her.  “I don’t want the two of you getting damaged when we open this.”

          The two gods stepped forward and the world shifted.  The Gate appeared before them, but once it was open it was difficult for the Elrics to fully understand what was happening.  The goddess appeared to be arguing with something, and there may have been a skirmish, but they just couldn’t concentrate clearly enough to really understand it.

          After what seemed a few minutes Manannan approached them.  He looked a bit uncomfortable as he said “Morri has arranged for your travel through the Gate.  You were right, that thing is a bastard.  I don’t like the agreement she made with it, but it was her choice and I will stand by it.  Go now, before it changes its mind.”

          The brothers gathered the few possessions they had brought with them and moved toward the Gate.  Ed couldn’t quite suppress a shiver, but managed to keep walking forward.  As they came abreast of the goddess they saw she had an odd look on her face.  “Go on, the two of you.  And remember me.”

          Alphonse impulsively gave her a hug, which was hesitantly returned.  Then he and Ed walked as quickly as they could into the waiting mass of black hands.

          Manannan approached as the Gate closed behind the brothers.  “Will you really become human and live in their world for thirty human years?”

          “Yes.  I agreed to the bargain, even if all I wanted to do was tear that thing apart.  Perhaps if I spend some time in their world I can learn of this alchemy they speak of and put to right some of what’s wrong with their Underworld.”  She turned with a soft smile.  “But I get to choose when I cross over and I believe I’ll let those boys age a bit first.  Since you’re here with me now, would you like to continue what we started earlier?”

          Manannan stepped into her embrace.  “Of course I do.  When have I ever turned you down, Morri?”

**Central, Amestris, October 31, 1919**

          It was 12:45 and Roy was getting antsy.  He knew the time wouldn’t be perfect as he and Alphonse had discussed the difference between the two worlds the last time they spoke.  But he was impatient to see the Elrics again, and Hawkeye was beginning to twitch at his pacing.

          “Sir, if you will just **sit down** I’m sure they will be here momentarily.  Those boys have never failed you before and they’re not going to now.”

          Roy plopped himself down on the ground and tried very hard not to wring his hands.  “You know that Edward and I will be living together and Alphonse will be staying with us as well.  Do you really approve of that, Major?”   

          Hawkeye had a small smile on her face as she replied.  “Maria and I would never begrudge you a relationship with Edward.  Since his ties to the military have been ended there is no issue of fraternization and he’s more than legally old enough for the law to look the other way.  And I understand why you want to move, Sir.  I would imagine living a quiet life with the man you love preferable to staying in Central.”

          Roy sent her a grateful look.  “There are wonderful schools in both locations so Alphonse will have his pick of programs.  I’m assuming he’ll want to study alchemy of some sort, but there are many areas of study available.  And Edward will have his pick of positions anywhere.  It will be wonderful to have them both home,” he finished quietly.

          Movement from the portal broke off whatever Hawkeye might have said next.  The air seemed to shimmer momentarily around the portal before Edward tripped through pulling Alphonse behind him.  Roy ran over just in time to catch Edward who managed to get out, “We made it Al,” before passing out.

          Available medics checked both brothers out.  They appeared to be severely exhausted, and in need of rest, but otherwise healthy.  Roy transmuted two stretchers for the brothers to be laid on for the long walk back to the surface.  He still knew of no way to close the portal without input from the Elrics, so for the time being a guard was left to monitor the portal.

          It took 48 hours for Edward to wake up in the hospital, and another 6 for Alphonse.  Roy stayed by Edward’s side and had made sure the staff had put the brothers into the same room.  When Ed finally opened his eyes to see Roy sitting there beside him it took a moment to process everything.  He immediately looked around for Al, and upon finding him in the same room relaxed.

          Roy moved to sit on the bed with him and pulled Ed into his arms.  “You’re home now, Edward.  Both of you are home.  We’ll stay here in the hospital until Alphonse is able to leave and then both of you are coming to my house.  I promise you, we will find a way to make this work.”

          Ed breathed in the familiar scent of Roy’s skin and finally, **finally** relaxed.  Somehow they’d done it.  He and Alphonse had made it past that bastard in the Gate in one piece and were back in Amestris.  The days ahead were going to be awkward, and uncomfortable, but he found himself actually hoping for the happiness Al had wished for.  With both of the people he loved most in his life again, Ed was willing to believe they just might find what they were looking for.

          Closing his eyes and breathing in Roy’s scent, Ed patiently waited for Al to wake up.  Together they could find a way to be complete.

_fin_

 

**Thank you all so very much for reading!**

As a special gift to all the wonderful readers who spent their valuable time reading my very ambivalent fic I'm including a link that explains why this story came to be.  You can find it  _[here](http://callasyndra.livejournal.com/1749.html)._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it! Don't know if I dare to write a sequel or if I even want to, but considering the entire reason this was written was to get it out of my head, there is that distinct possibility. If you want more of this OT3, found errors, or want to offer constructive criticism please leave me a comment.
> 
> Update - took the extra privacy back off my stuff as I noticed that most of the people on AO3 who write much better stuff than I do don't have privacy on their stuff. So....here's hoping there's no more issues with bots uploading crap.

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't send me comments asking when I'm going to update. I will update if and when I have the time as I'm raising 3 kiddos and have multiple WIPs in different fandoms. Any kudos or other comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading!


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